KUALA LAMPUR: Malaysian pilgrims said on Friday they are enjoying smooth travel under the Makkah Route initiative and are moved by Saudi hospitality as they reach the Kingdom to perform Hajj.
Malaysia is among seven Muslim-majority countries — including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Morocco, Turkiye and Cote d’Ivoire — where Saudi Arabia opened its Makkah Route initiative.
The program, launched in 2019, is dedicated to Hajj pilgrims, allowing them to fulfill all visa, customs and health requirements at their airport of origin, saving long hours of waiting. Upon arrival, pilgrims can enter the Kingdom having already gone through visa and customs processes back home.
This year, 31,600 Malaysians are participating in the annual pilgrimage that is one of the five pillars of Islam.
Those departing from Kuala Lumpur International Airport are taken care of by Saudi immigration officials working round the clock to facilitate their journey under Makkah Route.
“It is a successful program in facilitating the movement of pilgrims through immigration and customs at KLIA and the airports in Madinah and Jeddah,” Mohammed Naser Jaffar, director of media operations for Tabung Hajji — Malaysia’s Hajj board — told Arab News, as he expressed his gratitude to the Saudi government for providing the special service “for the comfort of Malaysian Hajj pilgrims.”
Among those who enjoyed the service was Nuryutta Yahya, who reached the Kingdom accompanied by her father.
“The process of the Makkah Route was very smooth for me and my father,” she told Arab News over the phone from Saudi Arabia.
“I am happy and grateful to be here in Makkah. I am still young, and it is a blessing for me.”
Like many other Malaysians, Yahya was also moved by Saudi hospitality.
“The Saudis here are very friendly,” she said. “Every time we walked by, they would greet us Malaysians!”
Khawlah Al-Azwar Mohd Lukmanuddin, another female pilgrim from Yahya’s group, was full of praise for her hosts’ willingness to assist whenever help is needed.
“If we go to the mosque and seek help, they willingly assist us, even though many of us here do not know how to speak Arabic,” she said.
“They go out of their way to help.”
Malaysian pilgrims grateful for smooth Makkah Route journey, Saudi hospitality
https://arab.news/nceaj
Malaysian pilgrims grateful for smooth Makkah Route journey, Saudi hospitality
- 31,600 pilgrims from Malaysia participating in this year’s Hajj
- Malaysians moved by hosts’ willingness to assist whenever help is needed
171 bodies found in mass graves in eastern Congo, an official says
- Authorities found two mass graves with at least 171 dead bodies in the Kiromoni and Kavimvira
- M23’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment
KINSHASA: Congolese authorities and a civil society group said Thursday that mass graves were found in part of eastern Congo that the M23 rebel group has recently withdrawn from, as fighting in the region escalates despite a US-mediated peace deal.
The governor of South-Kivu province, Jacques Purusi, said authorities found two mass graves with at least 171 dead bodies in the Kiromoni and Kavimvira neighborhoods on the outskirts of the eastern city of Uvira.
“At this stage, we have identified two sites: one mass grave containing approximately 30 bodies in Kiromoni, not far from the Burundian border on the Congolese side, and another in Kavimvira where 141 bodies were found,” Purusi told The Associated Press over the phone.
The Associated Press could not independently verify the claim. M23’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Executive Secretariat of the Local Network for the Protection of Civilians, a civil society group in the region, said Thursday it wanted to visit the mass graves but was prevented from doing so by the Congolese military.
Information gathered so far indicates that the victims were killed by M23 rebels, said Yves Ramadhani, the group’s vice president.
The governor and the civil society group alleged that the rebels killed the individuals because they suspected them of belonging to the Congolese army or a pro-government militia.
Both the Congolese military and M23 have been accused of extrajudicial killings and abuses by rights groups.
