Pre-clearance system for Haj pilgrims a success: Saudi official

SEPANG: The full cooperation given by the Malaysian government to Saudi Arabia has resulted in the smooth handling of Haj pilgrims going through the pre-clearance system.
Saudi Arabia's Director General of Passports Maj. Gen. Sulaiman Al Yahya said Malaysian Haj pilgrims were the first in the world to be introduced to the pre-clearance programme at the point of departure in the home country.
"Malaysian pilgrims have been known to be organised and highly disciplined and this was the reason why the Saudi government has chosen Malaysia as the first country to try out the system," he told the media after monitoring the pre-clearance programme for Haj pilgrims at KLIA yesterday.
He said the system enables immigration checks to be carried out in the home country at the time of departure, instead of upon the pilgrims' arrival in the Kingdom.
"We have tested the system during last year's Haj pilgrimage with a small number of pilgrims from Malaysia and it was successful and today we start the system officially," he said.
"One of the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 is to adopt simple and easy procedures in serving pilgrims across the globe and we thank the people of Malaysia for making it happen today," he added.
Sulaiman said the system took about five to 10 seconds for each person to go through the immigration checks adding that the Saudi authorities plan to carry out a similar pilot project in Indonesia this year.
"Our government also intend to expand the system for Umrah pilgrims in the near future to make the journey pleasant for guests of Allah to Mecca and Madinah," he said. — Bernama