KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) has appealed to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to discuss with Saudi's King Salman Abdulaziz al-Saud in resolving suspension of Umrah and tourist visa to the Kingdom.
Its deputy president Mohd Akil Mohd Yusof also called upon the King who is the head of Islam in Malaysia, to convince the Saudi King to consider lifting the visa suspension which was announced today.
Saudi Arabia announced today that it was suspending Umrah pilgrimage and tourist visas over fears of the covid-19 outbreak, which has now struck middle-east countries and europe.
“We want to appeal to the King as he is the head of Islam in Malaysia.
“As a Malaysian and the Matta deputy president, I would like to appeal and seek His Majesty to negotiate with the Saudi King to consider the suspension over tourist and Umrah visa to Saudi Arabia for the benefit of all Muslims worldwide.
“The suspension would burden the Muslims in the country as they could not perform their Umrah, and hope that the suspension is only temporary and be lifted soon,” he said in a press conference here today.
Akil also hoped that the suspension which is first of its kind to be issued by the Saudi government, would be lifted during the next school holidays which start mid-March.
He said Matta was informed of the temporary visa suspension by the Saudi Arabia embassy here, and requested the public to remain calm and contact their travel agents for further information on their flight details.
As of last year, around 270,000 local Muslims have performed Umrah pilgrimage, while there are five direct flights to Jeddah and Madinah in Saudi Arabia. Only one flight managed to enter the Holy land before the suspension took effect.
Akil said Matta would also be monitoring any new development on the visa suspension.
“We will continue to monitor the latest instruction to avoid any negative effect to the businesses of our members.
“A clear guideline on the visa suspension is important for the Umrah pilgrimage operators for them to provide services to their clients,” he said while adding that Matta would continue working with relevant authorities to ease Umrah pilgrimage in the future.
He however said discussions on refunds and flight details of those who have booked their Umrah travel packages were being discussed to resolve the issue.
Wisma Putra has confirmed Malaysia was listed as one of the countries facing Covid-19 crisis, which was why the Saudi government has posed a temporary suspension for Umrah, Ziarah and tourist visa.
In a statement, Wisma Putra said it had received confirmation from the Saudi Arabia Embassy in Kuala Lumpur that it will be suspending all Umrah and Ziarah visa to Masjid Nabawi, in Medina and tourist visa, effective today.
The visa suspension was said as a precautionary measure to prevent, control and eliminate the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak.
There have been more than 82,000 global cases with infections in every continent except Antarctica. New outbreak clusters are sparking alarm and emergency measures in the Middle East and Europe.