SEPANG, July 21 — The Haj operations this year are highly satisfactory and the Saudi Arabian government considers the management by Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) to be outstanding, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar.

He said this was personally conveyed to him by the Saudi Minister of Haj and Umrah Dr Tawfiq Fawzan Al-Rabiah recently.

"Dr Tawfiq personally informed me that he considers the management by TH to be the best.

"We also know that due to this excellent administrative management, the Saudi Arabian government has awarded TH the Labaittom Award for three consecutive years,” he said.

Mohd Na’im told reporters this after welcoming the last group of 270 Malaysian pilgrims who arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 late last night.

He also mentioned that Malaysian pilgrims were praised for their discipline, knowledge and good manners while performing Haj.

"This is due to the role played by TH before the pilgrims’ departure, where they attend basic and premier Haj courses,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Mohd Na’im congratulated the 31,600 Malaysian pilgrims this year for successfully overcoming the challenges of performing the pinnacle of the Haj rituals and fulfilling the fifth pillar of Islam.

"Almost all the pilgrims said that the food and transportation were good. Of course, there were some weaknesses, and TH will conduct a post-mortem and discussions to improve,” he said.

A total of 100 special charter flights were provided by Amal by Malaysia Airlines and Saudia Airlines to bring all the pilgrims home from June 24 until the last flight yesterday.

TH chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Hussain and TH group managing director and chief executive officer Syed Hamadah Syed Othman were also present. — Bernama