KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — The first two groups of Malaysian Haj pilgrims, each with 483 people, arrived on flights KT01 and KT02 at the Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Medina, Saudi Arabia yesterday.

In a statement issued today, Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) said the first group arrived at 11.50am local time or 4.50pm Malaysian time, while the second group arrived at 5.47pm local time or 10.47 Malaysian time.

It said TH has provided five hotels for accommodation, namely the Al-Haram Hotel, the Anwar Al-Madinah Movenpick Hotel, the Saja Al-Madinah Hotel, the As Saha Hotel and the Rawda Al-Aqiq Hotel which are located between 100 and 300 metres from the An-Nabawi Mosque.

TH Haj delegation deputy head (welfare) Nurrinanuwar Shamsuddin said he was thankful to the Saudi Arabian Government for continuing with its "Mecca Route” pre-departure initiative for all Malaysian Haj pilgrims.

"The programme has reduced the time the pilgrims are at the airport and through the immigration process to 45 minutes to one hour, compared to the previous three or four hours.

Nurrinanuwar said the pilgrims are advised to abide by the regulations and to look after their health especially in the hot weather, with temperatures reaching 47°C.

A total of 30,200 Malaysian pilgrims will perform their pilgrimage this year, assisted by 640 staff of TH. — Bernama