KUALA LUMPUR — 10 July Since 2019, there have been 252 police investigation documents on Haj and Umrah frauds totalling RM9.81 million, according to Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, the deputy minister of tourism, arts, and culture.
Additionally, he stated that during the same time frame, the Malaysian Consumer Claims Tribunal (TTPM) processed 1,549 cases with claims totalling RM29.58 million and granted RM16.37 million in damages.
“The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (Motac) has received 349 Umrah complaints between May 2023 and May 2024, totalling a loss of RM14.09 million. Motac has urged the complainant to submit a police report for fraud cases and make a claim with TTPM for compensation.
In this regard, Motac has initiated 19 Umrah-related investigation documents; eight of these instances have been settled with compound payments totalling RM241,000. During today’s question-and-answer session with the ministers in the Dewan Rakyat, he stated that others are still being investigated by the Umrah operator agency.
One of the five pillars of Islam, the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca is undertaken by Muslims at a set time in the Islamic calendar. An analogous minor pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time of the year is the Umrah.
According to Khairul Firdaus, the ministry has revoked and suspended the licenses of two Umrah operator agencies due to violations of the 1992 Tourism Industry Act.
Furthermore, Motac implements preventive measures by monitoring unlicensed businesses operating online that might be involved in fraudulent activities and updating the Alert List of Entities Violating the Tourism Industry Act 1992 on Motac’s website and social media accounts.
He said, “We also frequently collaborate with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to block and terminate unlicensed entities’ social media accounts.”
According to Khairul Firdaus, as of May 2024, 272 unauthorized businesses were discovered to be offering travel packages – Malaymail
