PUTRAJAYA, Oct 8 — A total of 63 Malaysian pilgrims made up of 28 adults and 35 children remain stranded in Saudi Arabia since June 2022.
“The pilgrims were brought to Madinah in March by a tariqa group Naqsyabandiyah Al-Kholidiah to perform umrah,” said a joint statement issued by the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) and the office of the Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs).
However, they remain in Madinah to this day and were never taken to Mecca to perform the umrah.
“The tariqa leader was deported by the Saudi Arabia government on August 20, for contravening the local laws.
The Malaysian government has agreed to help bring the stranded pilgrims back soonest with the help of Wisma Putra, Office of the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), the Malaysian Embassy in Riyadh and the Malaysian Consulate in Jeddah.
— Bernama
