Public cautioned over Haj pilgrimage scams
Published on: Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Published on: Tue, Apr 29, 2025 Text Size: Dr Mohd Arifin presenting contributions to the participants at the event. Kota Kinabalu: The public is advised to consult Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) to avoid falling victims to fraudulent Haj pilgrim package scams. Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Datuk Dr Mohd Arifin Datuk Mohd Arif, who is also the State Islamic and Education Affairs Exco, said TH has extensive expertise in managing Haj pilgrims and is always ready to assist the public in obtaining verified information. 'The public will be less likely to fall for fake Haj packages if they conduct early checks by referring to TH or other recognised agencies. 'TH is also always prepared to offer advice and guidance to help the public choose packages from reputable agencies,' he said. Dr Mohd Arifin told reporters after officiating a Premier Course on Performing Hajj for West Coast Zone at the University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Masjid, here, last Saturday. The two-day course, held from April 26 to 27, was attended by over 400 future pilgrims from Sabah's West Coast zone. He said the State Government supports TH's efforts in helping pilgrims make early preparations for the Hajj pilgrimage. 'Thank you to TH for organising this course, which is also being held in other districts to provide future pilgrims with sufficient knowledge before they depart for the Holy Land,' he said. He said that nearly 1,000 pilgrims from Sabah are expected to perform the Haj this year and expressed hope that the quota will continue to increase in the future. Additionally, Dr Mohd Arifin encouraged the public to open Tabung Haji accounts and to teach children to start saving early to simplify the Haj registration process later on. Also present were Assistant Minister of Religious Affairs Datuk Ruslan Muharam; Sabah State Mufti Datuk Bungsu @ Aziz Jaafar; Sabah Director of the Sabah Islamic Development Department (Jakim) Datuk Norjeli Idris; Director of the Sabah Islamic Religious Affairs Department (Jheains) Datuk Jumain Abdul Ghani; and Director of Tabung Haji for the Sabah and Sarawak region, Datuk Nurlaila Said. * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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The Star
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- The Star
Making it easy to worship
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The Star
38 minutes ago
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A Mecca of wonders, friendships of strangers
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'We look out for each other when we go to pray and we do everything together,' says the chirpy Norhayati. Having known the place for a couple of weeks before Haj also lessens the fear of being lost during the gruelling days of Arafah, Muzdalifah and Mina during the key rituals of wukuf (standing in prayer), mabit (spending the night) and jamrat (stoning the devil). Pilgrims have to perform the key rituals within a certain period to ensure that their Haj is complete. Key rituals in comfort On June 4, one day before the Day of Arafah, the pinnacle of the Haj, we were ferried by buses to air-conditioned tents on the plains of Mount Arafat, then to Muzdalifah, and the next day to Mina for the stone-the-devil ritual. These facilities were set up by a local company, Al-Masiah, which liaises with the Saudi authorities on behalf of Tabung Haji. 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New Straits Times
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Farewell Tawaf marks smooth early departure of pilgrims
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