Kota Kinabalu: The Consumer Claims Tribunal struck out a case filed by two men against a travel agency after it was found that they had travelled to perform Haj using tourist visas instead of Haj visas, on Tuesday.
Tribunal President Salmi Zalinah Abdul Rahim said the case could not be heard as it fell outside the tribunal’s jurisdiction.
Claimants Ali Hassan Hamid and Md Zahari Md Aslie each paid RM61,900 and RM62,000 for what they believed to be a 22-day Haj package offered by Shahid Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd.
During the hearing, the claimants said they were unaware that they would be using tourist visas. They only discovered the visa type upon checking at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) before departing for Jeddah.
“On June 1, we were queuing at the counter to check in for our flight to Jeddah at around 12.30am. While in line, our passports were handed to us. We were shocked to see that instead of Haj visas, the visas issued were ‘tourism visit’ visas. We proceeded to the departure hall as our flight was scheduled to leave at 2.15am,” said Zahari.
According to the company’s representatives, the visa mujamalah (Haj visa) required an additional payment of between RM20,000 and RM25,000, which they did not pay. As a result, they were only issued tourist visas.
The claimants, however, insisted that they were not told beforehand and only learned of the visa issue when they arrived in Jeddah, where they were unable to perform Haj.
Salmi explained that under Saudi regulations, only those travelling with authorised Haj visas are permitted to perform Haj, and using a tourist visa for the pilgrimage constitutes a violation of Saudi law.
“In cases where the package offered clearly states that it is a Haj package and the consumer is deceived, they may file a claim for compensation with the Tribunal for Consumer Claims (TPPM). However, if the claimants themselves travelled using tourist visas, it falls outside the tribunal’s jurisdiction,” she said.
Salmi added that since the claimants had contravened Saudi visa regulations, the tribunal was not empowered to hear the case.
“Such cases should instead be brought before the civil court, where issues involving alleged travel agent misconduct or fraud can be properly addressed,” she advised.