DECADES ago, before there was Tabung Haji (TH), the family of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa had helped many Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai and Brunei pilgrims perform their haj.
This was before pilgrims could get on a plane and fly straight to the Holy Land.
At the time, pilgrims had to travel for three months on a ship to do so and they would convene at Lebuh Acheh Port in George Town, Penang.
Each year when the haj season began, the Lebuh Acheh area would be thronged by pilgrims and their families.
It was so popular at the time that it was known as “Mini Jeddah”.
Mujahid’s father and grandfather were among those who were involved in helping these pilgrims with their travel arrangements. At times, the pilgrims would face problems with their tickets, visas, not having enough money, a place to stay while waiting for their ship to sail or even food to eat.
“Sometimes, they would be stranded for months.
“My father had a row of bookshops there where he sold Islamic books.
“So, when someone faced a problem, they would see my father and he would render his service to them.
“For those who didn’t have anything to eat, my mother would cook and send the food to the nearby mosque, then called Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh.
“That was the colourful environment I grew up with, way before TH was formed,” he told the New Straits Times in an interview recently.
Aside from pilgrims getting on board a ship to go to Mecca, that was also where they had their haj course unlike now, where pilgrims would attend a proper haj preparation class provided by TH or pilgrimage operators.
Lebuh Acheh is now registered as a World Heritage Site but back then, it was the centre of Islamic studies in Penang, frequented by traders from the surrounding Malay archipelago, the Middle East and India.
It was one of the busiest ports in Southeast Asia during the Muslim holy month of the haj.
The majority of haj pilgrims from Malaysia and around the world who travelled to Makkah between 1786 and 1976 did so by sea.
“There were many activities of business, trades, selling books about haj and people giving sermons on how to perform the haj during that time.
“About one or two months before departure, the pilgrims would start their journey from home, which means they would arrive early.
“So, during this time, my family, the Rawa clan, would help by providing the pilgrims with places to stay.
“I didn’t know everything my family did until a few people approached me and told me stories of how my father helped their fathers or grandfathers.”
Getting to the Holy Land by sea at the time was a great challenge for those who didn’t earn enough.
Some would spend their entire life savings to finance the journey.
With that knowledge in mind, Mujahid said that was the reason his father, former Pas president Yusof Rawa, decided to prioritise the pilgrims over himself.
“Every day, he would put aside a portion of his daily income in a pouch and during Friday prayers, he would distribute the money to those in need. He did this every single week.
“I remember this well because I was entrusted to do so when I was 12 or 14.
“He told me to donate the money and return home without a single sen left in the pouch.
“This taught me a lesson that I should always help those in need because you’ll never know what sort of hardship a person is going through.”
Little did the 14-year-old boy know then that one day, he too would be involved in the “family business” of taking care of haj pilgrims.
After being appointed as the Religious Affairs Minister under the Pakatan Harapan government last year, Mujahid has been entrusted to take care of TH.
“I saw all that then and today I’m given this task to look into TH. I am very honoured to do so.
“But it also gives me this feeling that I should do my duty in taking care of our pilgrims as my father had done before me,” he said.