KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has sent an official letter to the Saudi Arabian government requesting an increase in haj quota for the pilgrimage this year, said Tabung Haji chief executive officer Datuk Seri Zukri Samat.
He said, however, the TH Board has yet to receive a reply from the Saudi Arabian government on the matter.
“We have requested for an additional quota of 10,000 but we would settle for at least 8,000.
“I understand the prime minister has sent a letter to the Saudi government (recently) regarding this additional quota, so we hope the answer will be prompt as the Haj season is around the corner,” he said when met by reporters after the Khatam Al-Quran event and World #QuranHour here today.
The current quota for Malaysian haj pilgrims this year is 30,200.
Asked whether TH was confident of obtaining the additional quota for Malaysian pilgrims, Zukri said it was hard to say as a host of factors needed to be looked into by the Saudi government.
TH hoped the request could be approved to shorten the waiting period for potential pilgrims which is estimated at 120 years!
He said, the first haj flight is expected to take off on July 4 with Wukuf day (culmination of haj) on Aug 10 for this season.
Meanwhile, Zukri said TH was confident of giving a higher bonus for the financial year of 2019 which was more than 1.25 per cent in 2018 following positive development and good recovery management currently being implemented by TH. – Bernama
