Tabung Haji (TH) chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim said that if there was indeed such a ban, then Malaysians performing the haj and umrah would be advised to adhere strictly to the rule.

TH would issue an official statement on the matter as soon as it was notified by the Saudi Arabian government, he told reporters at the Baling parliamentary constituency circumcision programme here today.

An international portal had quoted the Saudi General Directorate of Press and Information as saying that the Saudi foreign ministry had decided on Nov 12 to prohibit photos and videos in Mecca’s Masjid al-Haram, known as the Great Mosque of Mecca, and Madina’s Masjid an-Nabawi or “The Prophet’s Mosque”.

The ban also applies to the surrounding areas of the mosques.

Saudi authorities had reportedly cited disturbance of worshippers at the mosques as another reason for the introduction of the measure.