All eyes will be on the Cabinet meeting tomorrow in anticipation of a discussion revolving around the incident where 380 prospective haj pilgrims were left stranded at the KL International Airport last Thursday, while awaiting their flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Sources familiar with the investigation said the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry was expected to obtain a full report today, of which, the findings will be presented tomorrow.
Police have arrested five people, including the owner of a travel agency, in relation to the incident. At least 22 police reports were lodged by the affected pilgrims, or their next-of-kin. Police said the case involved losses of about RM760,000.
The episode has also sparked conversations on the need:
i. to educate the public, especially those intending to perform their haj, about the furada visa.
ii. for various government agencies to work together, via a task force, to ensure that the welfare of potential haj pilgrims is better protected.
What is a furada visa?
The furada visa is a private visa issued by the government of Saudi Arabia. It is not part of the allocated quota given to Tabung Haji annually.
“The problem happens when people aren’t aware, or choose to be ignorant of the ‘risks’ involved. They include applications being rejected at the eleventh hour. As such, it’s best to verify and confirm everything before they leave,” said a source.
“In fact, many Muslims aren’t familiar with the furada visa. They just go to a travel agency that deals with haj bookings and leave it to them to sort things out.”
There are murmurs of individuals being accorded the furada visa, who then sell the visa to a third party. There are also allegations of “direct negotiations” between travel agents and Tabung Haji insiders to secure allocations for haj.
Calls have been made for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate these accusations.
Section 27 of the Tabung Haji Act 1995 states that no person shall carry out, or transact the business of organising travel for the purpose of pilgrimage to the holy land “unless he is the holder of a valid pilgrim organiser licence issued by the Lembaga (Tabung Haji)”.
‘Enforcement should rightfully be carried out by Tabung Haji’
The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry has been dragged into this fiasco. The ministry issues licences to travel agents and agencies.
The ministry has an Umrah Regulatory Council. It was established in 2014 as a regulatory mechanism for handling umrah packages and to monitor the implementation of service standards of tour operators and travel agencies in handling umrah packages. The council does not look into haj-related matters.
Matters relating to the haj fall under the Tabung Haji – the Malaysian haj pilgrims fund board, for which the Act is named after.
“As such, enforcement should rightfully be carried out by Tabung Haji and other agencies related to it, but the reality is that these agencies don’t have enough personnel. What should be done is that, at the very least, there should be some form of presence (of enforcement units) at the airport, to serve as a deterrent. This is where other agencies like the police and even staff from the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, can help out.”
Form task force, get all involved
The source added that government agencies can no longer continue to pass the buck.
“This incident should serve as a huge lesson. Concrete steps must be taken to find a solution to better protect the welfare of those intending to perform their haj.
“There is a proposal to form a task force comprising different agencies.”
However, the source admitted it would be unclear who would be given the mandate to lead such a task force – Tabung Haji, or the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, or another government agency.
“It all boils down to ‘punca kuasa’ (source of authority). If we were to look at the Tabung Haji Act, then Tabung Haji should lead this. The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), Datuk Idris Ahmad, should also be heavily involved, and take charge.
“If the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry takes the lead, can it compel other agencies (i.e. the police or Tabung Haji) to follow their lead?
“The problem is, many people started on the wrong foot when this issue blew up. They started passing the buck, instead of looking at the facts and getting to the bottom of it.
“We hope the Cabinet will deliberate (the matter tomorrow and) give the mandate as to who should lead the way forward,” the source added.