KUALA LUMPUR: The pilgrims fund Tabung Haji has been instructed to investigate the stranding of 300 prospective pilgrims in Mecca after being deceived by a travel agency that had offered them cheap haj packages.
Religious affairs minister Na’im Mokhtar said all those affected should contact the Malaysian embassy in Saudi Arabia for assistance.
He said Muslims must be more cautious about offers of cheap travel packages from unlicensed travel agencies. Anyone offering haj packages without TH approval was breaking the law, he said.
TH has appointed 25 local travel companies to serve as pilgrimage operators for the current haj season.
The 300 Malaysians were left stranded after the travel agency failed to obtain permission for them to perform the haj this season. They realised that they had been deceived after discovering they had been issued tourist visas instead of haj visas.