BINTULU, June 24 — The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MoTAC) plans to introduce Malaysia as a key umrah hub where Muslims from the Asian region could gather before leaving for Mecca, Saudi Arabia to perform the pilgrimage.
Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said he would hold a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the near future to discuss this further.
In Islam, umrah is different from Haj in that the former can be performed at any time except during the Haj season, and also umrah is more of a religious visit to Mecca that is not compulsory for every Muslim, whereas Haj is an obligation under ‘Five Pillars of Islam’ where depending on one’s affordability and situation, should be performed at least once in a lifetime.
“The upcoming meeting is expected to yield positive results and realise the country’s dream of becoming an umrah hub that brings together all pilgrims in the Asian region in the future,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
Tiong, who is Bintulu MP, also said he and his MoTAC team would promote this programme to countries such as China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, so as to attract the pilgrims to travel to Malaysia and have their visas processed in the country before going to Mecca for their umrah.
“(MoTAC) Deputy Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan will be responsible for managing this matter.
“The implementation method and detailed information regarding this programme will be announced later.
“The objective of this programme is not only to benefit the country’s economic growth, but also to promote Malaysia as a developed and competitive Islamic country in line with the concept of Malaysia Madani,” said Tiong. — Borneo Post Online
