KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — The Saudi Arabian government has yet to set the Haj quota for all countries for this year’s Haj season, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad.

Idris said he was aware of the concern of Muslims in the country following newspaper reports that there might be no increase in the Haj quota for Malaysians this year.

"I would like to clarify that no official decision (on Haj quota) has been made and it does not only involve Malaysia but other countries as well,” he said in a post on Facebook today.

Idris said he was optimistic that Muslims in the country would be able to perform the Haj pilgrimage this year based on Lembaga Tabung Haji’s (TH) excellent performance in the management of pilgrims.

"I certainly hope that the quota will be increased to give more opportunities to Muslims in Malaysia to fulfill (the fifth) pillar of Islam,” he said.

Meanwhile, Idris said he had the opportunity to see for himself the preprations to welcome the arrival of pilgrims made by the Saudi Arabian government during his recent official working visit to the kingdom.

"However, there are still many industries and businesses there that are not fully operational such as hotels and restaurants,” he said. — Bernama