MAKKAH: Behind the smooth haj journey of Malaysian pilgrims during each haj season is the highly dedicated personnel of the Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) who are always on their feet working hard day and night.
Always ready to serve regardless of the time of day, be it at midnight, in the wee hours of the morning, or under the scorching sun, TH staff members involved with the Masyair operation will always deliver.
Masyair involves the movement of pilgrims from Arafah and then onwards to Muzdalifah and Mina, which is the culmination of haj rituals.
Masyair operation director, Mohd Norber Kassim said without careful planning and the sincerity of the staff members in discharging their duties, problems could probably arise such as pilgrims’ late arrival to Arafah, issues involving accommodation and the disappearance of pilgrims who could have wandered into the tents allocated for pilgrims from other countries.
“Our priority during the Masyair operation is to take the pilgrims to Arafah but before they arrive, facilities such as tents, carpets, mattresses and pillows must be ready in addition to electricity, air conditions, water supply and toilets,” he said.
The Masyair operation staff also handles food and beverages for the pilgrims, providing them with 16 meals a day.
Mohd Norber said during the just concluded haj season, they had organised a series of meetings to arrange the movement of the buses carrying the pilgrims involving many parties, namely drivers, guides, muassasah, pilgrims and accommodation (maktab) managers, he said adding that they managed to implement each movement according to the plan.
“Pilgrims from three maktab were mobilised in an organised manner, where as soon as the buses arrived, they were instructed to quickly come down from their rooms as Saudi police did not allow buses to wait,” he added.
According to him, the real challenge for his unit was while they were in Mina to perform the stoning ritual as the pilgrims had to stay longer there (four days).
In addition to ensuring their safety and comfort, the staff needed to ensure that the pilgrims could perform the stoning ritual without incident.
He said since pilgrims had to walk 10 kilometres to and from their tents in Mina to perform the ritual at the Jamrah Complex, TH set up 16 posts along the route to prevent the pilgrims from getting lost.
He said there were incidents where pilgrims took a different route and they lost their way but TH personnel managed to find them and sent them back to their respective tents.
“It was a long walk and took a lot of time (to look for lost pilgrims) but the staff managed to do it,” he added.
“There were two personnel assigned to each post with a three-hour shift for each team. But they had to be always moving because the Saudi army would not allow them to stand at the posts to avoid congestion.
“Overall, the operation went smoothly and we managed to solve all problems quickly,” he added.-Bernama
