AN UMNO leader lashed out at Islamic Affairs Minister Datuk Idris Ahmad for dragging his feet in resolving the woes of nearly 400 hajj pilgrims who got stranded at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

“Idris only took note of the matter. He should be more proactive and get to the ground to find out what had happened.

“For a start, he could leverage on our strong bilateral ties (with Saudi Arabia) to help those affected,” said its supreme council member Datuk Puad Zarkashi in a Facebook post.

Yesterday, nearly 400 prospective Hajj pilgrims got stranded at the KLIA early in the morning, believed to have been conned by a travel agency.

They were said to have been issued the furada (or private hajj visa) to perform their pilgrimage without going through Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH).

The furada visa is a private visa reportedly issued by Saudi Arabia, without involving the quota allocated to TH.

Since then, Idris had called for the matter to be investigated and those responsible to be penalised accordingly.

On that note, Puad also slammed Special Envoy to the Middle East, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang for being silent on the matter.

“They were stranded for days but our special envoy didn’t even bother to show his face. The duo seems to be clueless on what to do.

“I hope the Government would prioritise those affected for next year’s hajj pilgrimage and include them in our quota,” the former deputy minister remarked. – July 9, 2022