Religious affairs minister Idris Ahmad said the payment will be credited to the Tabung Haji (TH) savings accounts of the pilgrims.

“The government will channel this compassionate payment as a sign of concern to the umrah pilgrims who were forced to cancel their pilgrimage to the Holy Land, due to the proliferation of the Omicron virus,” he said in a statement today.

The government had temporarily postponed permission for umrah travel from Jan 8 to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.

The government has since allowed umrah travel to resume on Feb 8 for Malaysians, with new SOPs, including a mandatory Covid-19 booster dose for pilgrims.

Travel agents also need to monitor the compliance of pilgrims while in the Holy Land, while travelling back to Malaysia and at Malaysia’s international entry points.

According to Idris, the tourism, arts and culture ministry had submitted a list of 8,027 names of pilgrims who were impacted and qualified to receive the payment. Of the total, almost 1,000 of them still do not have a TH account.

“As the method of payment is through a TH account, I urge all umrah pilgrims who have yet to open an account to do so before Feb 18,” he said.

Idris said pilgrims could go to www.thijari.com.my to open an account online, or go to the nearest TH branch to activate their accounts biometrically.

He added that they could go directly to the nearest TH counter to register if they have difficulties doing so online.

“The affected pilgrims will be served immediately without having to wait in a queue,” he added.