MAKKAH, Sept 17(Bernama) — The sites allotted for Malaysian pilgrims in Arafah, Mudzalidah and Mina are almost at the same locations as those during the last season’s haj pilgrimage, said head of the Malaysian haj delegation, Datuk Syed Saleh Syed Abdul Rahman.
He said this was based on the site plan for Malaysian pilgrims at the three locations by the Southeast Asia Muassasah.
Tabung Haji (TH) will begin making preparations to set up tents for the pilgrims, as well as the TH operations centre, Syed Saleh told the Malaysian media after visiting the sites on Tuesday.
He said the setting up of the tents and other facilities, including kitchen and medical clinic, would take two or three days and would be ready before the pilgrims departed Makkah to Arafah (which is a day before the ‘wukuf’ or grand assembly, scheduled on Oct 2).
In Arafah, the tents would have fans, while in Mina, they would be equipped with air-conditioning facility, he said.
Syed Saleh said the Malaysian pilgrims, totalling 22,320 people, would leave for Arafah, about 22km from the Grand Mosque (Masjidil Haram), in three stages and after the grand assembly would leave for Mudzalifah to collect pebbles for the stone throwing at Jamarat in Mina.
The Malaysian pilgrims are encouraged to perform the stone throwing ritual at the three jamrah after the Isyak prayer on three consecutive nights on the 11,12 and 13 of the Zulhijjah Muslim calendar before returning to Makkah, he said.
Syed Saleh said the tents for Malaysian pilgrims in Mina were located near the tunnel to Jamarat, which is about 3.5km to the site for the stone-throwing.
The tunnel has a walkator for the convenience of haj pilgrims, he added.
So far, 15,416 haj pilgrims have arrived in the holy land, with 12,268 of them in Makkah and the remaining in Madinah.
–BERNAMA
