PUTRAJAYA, -- The Government of Saudi Arabia is maintaining its quota of 28,000 pilgrims for Malaysia for this year's Haj pilgrimage, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom.
However, he said Malaysia would continue to seek to increase the figure as many Malaysian Muslims miss the chance to perform the pilgrimage because of the limited quota imposed each year,
To date, 936,000 Malaysians including 4,000 who are more than 75 years old had registered to perform the Haj, he told reporters after opening a seminar on the pilgrimage here yesterday.
The quota for this year had been a cause for worry for Malaysians following the action of some Malaysians who staged demonstrations in Mecca and Medina on April 26 this year to show support for Bersih 3.0, an organisation that resorts to street protests purportedly to call for electoral reform in Malaysia.
The Saudi government was not happy with the development and had expressed so through a diplomatic note to Malaysia's Foreign Ministry.
In the wake of what happened, Jamil Khir advises Malaysian pilgrims heading to the Holy Land not to do anything that would tarnish the image of the country.
-- BERNAMA
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