SEMENYIH, April 18 — Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) is ready to manage pilgrims from Malaysia for this year’s haj season, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad.

He said TH had made all the necessary preparations including in terms of logistics and accommodation.

"Usually, the first flight to bring the pilgrims to the holy land will depart on the 1st of Zulkaedah,” he told reporters after presenting donations to the Al-Fattah welfare home, here today.

On the announcement of the Haj quota by the Saudi Arabian government, Idris said that as of today, he had not received any official response from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia on the matter.

"We expect that the announcement would be made at the beginning of Ramadan, but we are already in the middle of the fasting month. We just can’t predict it, maybe they (the Saudi Arabian government) are facing some problems,” he said.

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia has previously announced that only one million local and international pilgrims under the age of 65 were allowed to perform the Haj pilgrimage this year. — Bernama