KUALA LUMPUR, 30 March 2018:
The government will not reduce the haj pilgrims quota despite having to bear the increased haj subsidy cost of RM100 million due to the implementation of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) in Saudi Arabia.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the cost incurred by the pilgrims is also maintained at RM9,980 per person.
“The cost of performing haj for the 1439 Hirah season or 2018 on the whole increased to RM22,450 compared to RM19,550 last year, the increase in costs covers the cost of accommodation,, food and services in Saudi Arabia.
“We have never felt the rise in cost as a hindrance, even the 30,200 pilgrims quota given by the Saudi government is not sufficient to accommodate the growing demand for haj registration,” he said in reply to a supplementary question by Datuk Raime Unggi (BN-Tenom) on the matter in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Asyraf Wajdi said that as of Feb 28, Tabung Haji received more than 2.9 million pilgrims registering to perform the haj and 78,951 new pilgrims registered for the first two months of this year.
– Bernama