Maldives gets 1,000 quota slots for Hajj pilgrimage
As per the calendar, this year's pilgrimage will be on June 28.
By
Mariyam Umna Ismail
Maldives has received the 1,000 slot quotas issued by Saudi Arabia as was in all pre-Covid-19 pilgrimages, government announced on Wednesday.
Islamic minister Ahmed Zahir tweeted that the Maldives has received 1,000 official quotas this year. Government is in the process of negotiating with Saudi Arabia to get more quotas, he said.
Last year, when the Hajj quota was issued to countries after a gap of two years, the Maldives received only 453 quotas. This was the year when the country got the lowest quota. While 1,000 official quotas have been given annually, additional quotas have been given with special permission from the Crown Prince and 2,000 quotas per year have also been given in some years.
During Wednesday’s parliament session, the Islamic Minister sent written answeMVR to questions raised by Maafannu Central MP Ibrahim Rasheed regarding the Hajj pilgrimage. Responding to a question on the expenses incurred by the Maldives last year to send people for Hajj, the minister said:
-
Last year, MVR 69.3 million was spent on the pilgrimage
-
That's MVR 1,66,196 per head
In addition to the details of the cost of the pilgrimage, another member pointed out that despite setting up a Hajj mission at a huge cost every year and sending staff to help the pilgrims, the pilgrims complain about the staff not benign helpful. The MP also noted that it has been reported that assistance is available only from employees of the Maldivian Embassy in Saudi Arabia who are visiting Mecca.
Referring to this, Ibrahim Rasheed asked why he did not do so as it was expected to be cost-effective if the work was done through embassy staff instead of making arrangements from Saudi Arabia.
Responding to a question, the Islamic minister said:
-
The Hajj agreement between Maldives and Saudi Arabia has been signed for a long time by the Islamic Ministry, which organises the pilgrimage
-
The 'Pilgrim Office' set up under the agreement is providing all services to the pilgrims
-
The office should establish the Hajj Mission as early as possible and go to the kingdom for various meetings regarding the arrangements for the pilgrimage; but such activities do not receive adequate budget.
-
Therefore, the office "can only be established as the Hajj Pilgrim Office in Mecca only for the Hajj season".
Zahir said the mission staff had taken full care of all aspects of the pilgrims in the last few years and denied the said complaints of pilgrims regarding the lack of assistance from the mission. He, however, added that since the Hajj Mission is an institution that monitors whether the services agreed to be provided to the pilgrims are delivered or not, he believes that companies could be unsatisfied with the mission.
"However, the ministry is looking at dealing with companies as impartially as possible," he said.
As per the calendar, this year's pilgrimage will be on June 28.
