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SEPANG – The Immigration Department will open 10 special counters from Sunday to June 21 to ease the documentation process for Malaysian haj pilgrims, said its Director-General Datuk Ruslin Jusoh.
Speaking to the media after conducting a survey of the counters at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here today, he said a total of 30 immigration personnel would be deployed on shifts throughout the period.
“The opening of the special counters at Gate C17 is an initiative for the comfort of haj pilgrims, without them having to jostle with other passengers. This is included in the Haj Pilgrims Pre-Departure or the Makkah Route Programme that involves the Immigration Department and Saudi Arabia customs,” he said.
According to him, a total of 31,600 Malaysian haj pilgrims will leave for Saudi Arabia via 201 flights from Sunday.
The implementation of the Makkah Route allows Malaysian haj pilgrims to travel to Mecca without having to go through time-consuming procedures upon arrival at KLIA.
Through this initiative, Saudi Arabian Immigration personnel at the KLIA counters for the programme will check the passports of haj pilgrims and, upon arrival at airports in Medina or Jeddah, they need not have to wait to go through immigration and customs checks.
Malaysia was the first country chosen for the implementation of the pioneer programme for the Makkah Route initiative in 2017, and it has been continued till today.
Ruslin said he was extremely satisfied with the level of preparedness of personnel and equipment at the counters.
“We do not want haj pilgrims to crowd around our special counters and cause immigration matters by Saudi authorities to be disrupted,” he said. – Bernama, May 19, 2023