KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 — The first Haj flight from Malaysia this year is scheduled to depart on May 9, said Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) group managing director Syed Hamadah Syed Othman.

Syed Hamadah, who is also TH chief executive officer, said the last flight carrying Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia is scheduled to depart June 9.

"Insya-Allah, the day of Arafah will be on June 15, 2024,” he told a press conference to announce TH’s profit distribution for the 2023 financial year here today, with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar also present.

Syed Hamadah said the official quota for Haj pilgrims from Malaysia remains at 31,600 people as announced by the Saudi Arabian government earlier.

"TH has been striving to obtain additional quotas, but it is still too early to expect a definitive response,” he said.

He said that so far, all 31,600 prospective Haj pilgrims have already received offers to perform the pilgrimage this year.

"Most of them are those whose turns fall in 1445H (this year) and also some backlog from the previous years,” he said, adding that about six per cent of the total prospective Haj pilgrims are those who made an appeal.

Regarding the plan to review the minimum deposit of RM1,300 required to register for Haj, Syed Hamadah said it was still under TH’s consideration.

"Insya-Allah, we may provide updates on this matter in the near future,” he said.

In a separate matter, Syed Hamadah said TH would leave it to the government to decide whether or not to disclose the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s report regarding TH’s management and operation to the public. — Bernama