Travel Condition and Quota Allocations for Singaporeans Performing Haj or Umrah Pilgrimage This Year
Ministry of Social and Family DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the update requested by Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim regarding travel conditions for the Haj or Umrah pilgrimage and safeguards against excessive deposit collections by travel agencies. Minister Masagos Zulkifli B M M noted that as of May 2021, Saudi Arabia had not announced international arrangements, making Singapore’s participation dependent on future public health assessments by MUIS and the Ministry of Health. To protect pilgrims, MUIS mandates that General Service Agents provide bankers’ guarantees and adhere to progressive payment schedules rather than collecting lump-sum deposits. Minister Masagos Zulkifli B M M also highlighted that MUIS is working with travel associations to facilitate refunds for the deferred 2020 Haj, subject to administrative fees. These measures ensure that public health remains the priority while safeguarding the financial interests of the Muslim community during the ongoing pandemic.
Transcript
51 Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) whether he can provide an update on travel conditions and quota allocations for Singaporeans to perform the Haj or Umrah pilgrimage this year; and (b) whether there is any safeguard to protect consumers and ensure that travel agencies offering pilgrimage services in Singapore do not collect deposits or excessive payments given the current situation.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: As of 10 May 2021, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has yet to announce the arrangements for Haj 2021. It is unclear whether the Haj pilgrimage will be opened to Singaporeans and other international pilgrims.
Should Haj be allowed for international pilgrims, MUIS, in consultation with MOH, will assess the public health risks of sending a delegation for Haj this year. Given the on-going challenge of bringing the pandemic under control globally, public health must be a priority.
MUIS has instituted measures to mitigate the financial risks for pilgrims. These include requiring Haj General Service Agents (GSA) to provide bankers’ guarantee to safeguard pilgrim deposits and mandating a progressive payment schedule, instead of a lump sum collection by the Haj GSAs.
In special circumstances such as the deferment of Haj last year, MUIS worked closely with Association of Muslim Travel Agents Singapore (AMTAS) and the GSAs to recover most of the deposits paid by the pilgrims for the travel. The deposits collected by the GSAs was necessary to reserve airline tickets and accommodation, which was originally intended to be brought forward for Haj 2021. MUIS is working with the GSAs to provide refunds to pilgrims who made payments for Haj 2020, subject to some administration fees. MUIS will provide further updates to pilgrims in due course.