KUALA LUMPUR: The management of umrah tours should remain under the Tourism and Culture Ministry’s purview and not Tabung Haji, Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) said today.
Matta’s vice president (umrah and hajj) Shahrulnezam Mohd Daud said there is no need to reinvent the wheel as the necessary safeguards are already in place.
“We disagree with (the idea of having) umrah (travel packages) be placed under Tabung Haji as advocated by a consumers’ association.
“A vast majority of umrah pilgrims travel without incidents every year. It would be unwise and irresponsible to dismantle such an established mechanism and put hundreds of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) especially Bumiputera tour operators in jeopardy.
“It would be difficult for Bumiputera tour operators in the private sector to compete and stay in business if any other government agencies taking over. It is compulsory for those operating umrah tours to obtain an outbound licence from the Tourism and Culture Ministry and only recently, only outbound tour operators with umrah special licence are authorised to do so,” he said in a statement today.
He also said the amount lost in umrah scams was at an average of RM5 million per year and it is lower than the RM5 billion losses suffered by one million Malaysians through money game investment scams as of this year.
“Nevertheless, it is heart-wrenching to see the hopes of pilgrims dashed by ruthless swindlers.
“The culprits, mostly the middlemen or those acting as freelancers, disappear after taking large sums of money. Such risks could be reduced by holding licensed umrah tour operators accountable for the action of sub-agents, their tour agencies or individuals representing them,” he added.
Matta president Datuk Tan Kok Liang meanwhile said, it is still important to take private sector tour operators’ welfare into consideration to safeguard the interests of Bumiputera operators for the benefit of the industry.