SEPANG, Aug 19 — The first group of Malaysian Haj pilgrims comprising 479 people, arrived home today on a flight from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The group, which included chairman of Tabung Haji (TH) Tan Sri Md Nor Md Yusof arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport here, welcomed back by TH Chief Strategy Officer and Chief of Staff Hizamuddin Jamalluddin, senior TH management staff and their family members.

A total of 69 flights are involved in the operations to bring back 30,200 Malaysian Haj pilgrims, with the last flight scheduled on September 12.

Pilgrim Masrudi Muhammad, 31, told reporters that the call of the Haj was very special to him as he was given the chance to perform it even though he did not register for it.

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“Initially, only my wife was registered with TH to go with her parents, but at the last minute, her father could not go due to health reason and I was asked to take his place,” Masrudi said, adding that he immediately registered with TH after that.

Another pilgrim, Amir Abdul Rahim, 61, said the situation during the heavy rains during wukuf in Arafah recently was not as bad as depicted by the media.

“Some tents leaked, but TH managed the situation very well and we could perform the pilgrimage properly,” the retired teacher from Pasir Mas, Kelantan who performed the Haj with his wife, said. — Bernama

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