SEPANG - Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar today left for Saudi Arabia for a working visit and to perform the haj pilgrimage.
He opted to check in at the Sepang Haj Complex, Movenpick Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here together with 283 pilgrims, before boarding the bus with the pilgrims to the airport.
"I want to experience it for myself, they (Tabung Haji) said they wanted to take me directly to KLIA, (but) I think I want to go through the same way as other pilgrims," he told the media at the haj complex today.
Mohd Na'im said he will meet with the Minister of Haj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia Dr Tawfiq Fauzan Muhammed Al Rabiah but did not divulge the details of the meeting.
Meanwhile, Mohd Na'im said as of yesterday, a total of 64 Malaysian pilgrims were being treated at the Tabung Haji (TH) hospital and Saudi hospital, due to lung infections caused by the scorching heat, among other things.
He said TH has taken the initiative to carry out a health programme to educate the pilgrims through its Ziarah Rahmah where they conduct health checks on them at their accommodations in Madinah and Makkah.
Nearly 90 per cent of the chartered flights for haj have departed for the Holy Land and a total of 29,212 pilgrims are already in Saudi Arabia.
The last flight to the Holy Land will be this Wednesday, while the return flights are scheduled to arrive from July 6 until Aug 2.
The Saudi government announced that Wukuf Day, the peak of the haj pilgrimage, will be on June 27 (Tuesday), while Hari Raya Aidiladha is to be celebrated on Wednesday (June 28).
Muslims in Malaysia will celebrate Aidiladha on June 29. - BERNAMA