KOTA BARU, May 21 — Would-be haj pilgrims will have to undergo a more stringent health screening due to the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Saudi Arabia, said Lembaga Tabung Haji chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim.

He said Tabung Haji with the help of the Health Ministry would ensure that would-be pilgrims were in good health before leaving for the holy land to prevent them from contracting the virus.

“Tabung Haji has the best health screening system for would-be pilgrims and wants to avoid them from succumbing to illness while performing the pilgrimage,” he told reporters after opening an entrepreneurship seminar here today.

The MERS-CoV has claimed 168 lives in Saudi Arabia since September 2012.

Abdul Azeez said despite stringent health screening, Malaysia’s pilgrim quota would not be affected and added that over one million people were on the pilgrim waiting list.

“We have to respect Saudi’s rulings, they are not barring us from performing umrah (small haj), but they are taking necessary steps to establish appropriate regulatory conditions to bring the situation under control,” he added.

According to a report, local tour and travel agencies might lose up to RM100 million if the Saudi government does not approve 15,100 umrah visa applications from Malaysia. — Bernama