THE outcome of discussions with authorities in Saudi Arabia on the standard operating procedure (SOP) related to haj and umrah will be presented to the National Security Council (NSC) and the Malaysian Health Ministry (MoH), said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri.

Zulkifli said, however, so far, the Saudi government had yet to make any decision on haj and umrah pilgrimage for this season.

“But the most important requirement at the moment is vaccination. Some Islamic countries do not have a transparent and orderly Covid-19 surveillance and control system and this causes Saudi Arabia to be very careful in making any decisions on haj pilgrimage.

“Insya Allah, based on our meetings in Saudi Arabia, (the results of) all discussions on the SOP will be presented to NSC and MoH for review and approval,” he told Malaysian media practitioners in Makkah today.

He was commenting on his meeting with Saudi’s Deputy Haj and Umrah Minister Dr Abdel Fattah Mashat yesterday.

Zulkifli said the Saudi government was working diligently to make preparations for the haj season this year, but its Health Ministry had yet to decide on the type of Covid-19 vaccine that this year’s haj pilgrims needed to have.

“So far, vaccination in Saudi Arabia has reached 70%, equivalent to almost six million people in the country and they only recognise the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines,” he said.

He said the Saudi government did not want haj pilgrimage to be the cause of the spread of the virus around the world and viewed seriously the surge in cases in the country during Ramadan.

Zulkifli is on a working visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss the SOP for this year’s haj pilgrimage. The visit, which started on April 9, ends today. – Bernama, April 18, 2021.