The 35-year-old engineer, who has been in Mecca for four months alongside seven other Malaysians, is tasked with ensuring that newly installed electrical systems at the Great Mosque – which houses the Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam – are working well.
“We will be here until the project is completed. After that, we will go to Medina to work on the electric umbrellas at the Nabawi Mosque,” Adha, who hails from Kuala Lumpur, told FMT.
He and his colleagues are part of Atom Bright Solution, an international engineering company based in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In October 2022, Saudi Arabia’s minister of haj and umrah Tawfiq Fawzan Al Rabiah described the Masjidil Haram expansion and construction project, which costs 200 billion riyals (RM250 billion), as the largest in the country’s history.
The project includes increasing the capacity of the mataf (tawaf area) to accommodate 30,000 more worshippers, installing 78 automatic gates, improving the sound system, and developing a surveillance and fire alarm system.
Adha, who has 15 years of experience in electrical engineering, acknowledged the challenges he faces working in the Holy Land, including unpredictable weather changes and communication issues, as some of the locals are not fluent in English.
Sharing his experience of Ramadan, Adha said Saudi Arabia set working hours during the fasting month from 6am to 12pm, which gave him the opportunity to perform tarawih prayers and fulfil umrah.
“Every time I see the Kaaba, I feel deeply moved and emotional. This is an extraordinary opportunity for me to perform umrah and pray with thousands of other Muslims.
“I consider this job as an act of worship, and I want to be of service for the comfort of pilgrims and those performing umrah,” he said.
As for Raya, Adha said he does not feel too homesick as he has been able to celebrate Aidilfitri at the Malaysian embassy in Riyadh with fellow Malay Muslims.
“There was plenty of food, and there is also a village located in nearby Ajyad where many Malays live,” he added.