FIRST BATCH OF MALAYSIAN HAJ PILGRIMS ARRIVE IN MADINAH

From Nurliyana Farhah Ruslan

MADINAH, April 29 (Bernama) -- The first batch of Malaysian pilgrims for the 1446H/2025 haj season, comprising 284 individuals, arrived safely at Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport here at about 8.04 am local time.

They arrived at the haj accommodation building at the Emaar Royal Madinah Hotel at 9.35 am, where they were welcomed by Consul General of Malaysia in Jeddah Roslan Sharif, together with Tabung Haji (TH) officials, including Malaysian Haj Consul Radin Adi Hilmi and director of Madinah operations, Affandi Abdullah.

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The group of pilgrims, consisting of 112 men and 141 women, had departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang at 4.12 am aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH8050.

For this year’s haj season, the Saudi Arabian government has approved a total of 31,600 haj quotas for Malaysian pilgrims, who are scheduled to arrive in Madinah and Makkah in stages starting today.

Meanwhile, Roslan expressed pride in the unwavering commitment shown by TH personnel and prayed for a smooth haj season, with all pilgrims granted a mabrur (accepted) haj.

Another flight from Malaysia, KT2, is expected to arrive in Madinah today at 10.38 am (local time), carrying 329 pilgrims, while KT3 is scheduled to arrive at approximately 2.10 pm (local time) with 254 pilgrims.

One of the pilgrims, Supiah Hussin, 70, could not hold back her tears upon arriving in Madinah, expressing her gratitude for finally being chosen as a guest of Allah during this year’s haj season.

“I spent 15 years saving money from selling kuih. Although it wasn’t much, sometimes I earned only RM10 or RM20 a day, but Alhamdulillah, Allah has finally invited me to be His guest,” she said tearfully.

During their six-day, five-night stay in Madinah before departing for Makkah, the pilgrims will take part in various programmes organised by TH, including visits to the Raudah at the Nabawi Mosque, as well as historical sites around the city of Al-Munawwarah.

-- BERNAMA