KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — The priority to perform the Haj next year will be given to those who are listed to perform the pilgrimage in 2020, followed by 2021, 2022 and so on.
Tabung Haji (TH) in a statement today said that this was due to the postponement of the pilgrimage for two years to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.
It said TH had introduced the open registration system using the “first come, first served” method since 1995.
“Each Haj season there will be vacancies due to various reasons such as health. However, these vacancies will be filled by those on the waiting list or those who appealed. The ones who are given priority are those who appealed as ‘mahram,” said the statement.
TH said that the government of Saudi Arabia is now actively developing the two holy lands, Makkah and Madinah, to increase the facilities and capacity of pilgrims as well as provide comfort to Haj and umrah pilgrims in the future.
Based on the Saudi Arabian government’s Vision 2030, the number of pilgrims is targeted to increase to 5.4 million by the year 2030.
“Therefore, TH is also optimistic that the number of our pilgrims will increase and this will enable the waiting time to be shortened,” according to the statement.
Through the existing open registration system, TH said an account holder would be eligible to register for the Haj with a minimum deposit of RM1,300 and be placed on the pilgrimage waiting list.
So far, a total of 3.8 million TH depositors have registered and are waiting for their turn to perform the fifth pillar of Islam.
“The Haj quota for Malaysia and other countries in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is at 0.1 per cent of the total population. For now, the government of Saudi Arabia has not yet set the official haj quota for the 1444 Hijrah season,” according to the statement. — Bernama
