MAKKAH: Tabung Haji (TH) has introduced a high-tech tag to keep track of the movements of Malaysian haj pilgrims in the Holy Land and ensure their safety, especially during the Masyair period which will involve the movement of a massive number of people from Makkah to Arafah, Muzdalifah and Mina.
Called e-Lencana, it is among the first of its kind in the world, and is implemented as a pilot project this year among 6,000 pilgrims from two maktab staying at Abraj Al-Janadriyah, which is also the TH headquarters.
The tag, which optimises low emission bluetooth technology to track pilgrims is developed by TH subsidiary Theta Edge Berhad.
TH head of the Malaysian 1439H haj delegation Datuk Seri Syed Saleh Syed Abdul Rahman said the target was to implement it fully for all pilgrims during next year's haj season.
"The headcount of pilgrims will be collated at specific checkpoints using a mobile app called 'Aplikasi Pengesan eLPH' which can detect their identities within a 30 to 50 metre radius.
"We will track them upon arrival at the airport to ensure they board the buses to their accommodation building. It will also record their arrival at the place they are staying.
"It will also be used to see whether they have performed the umrah or minor haj, and attended the eight series of religious courses organised for them."
He said it would flag those who did not return to their rooms and might perhaps be interacting with negative elements outside which TH has cautioned them against.
"Most importantly, it will track the movement of pilgrims in Arafah during wukuf, the pinnacle of haj expected on Aug 20. We no longer have to keep track manually with e-Lencana.
"If there is an emergency, we will know immediately where our pilgrims are," he told Malaysian journalists at Abraj Al-Janadriyah.
Close to 3 million pilgrims from around the world will be congregating in the Plain of Arafah to pray and seek forgiveness for their sins during wukuf.
He said TH managers and staff at the maktab would keep track of pilgrims using mobile phones and the data could also be seen on a dashboard at the operations information centre.
"So far, the system is working well. We will monitor it closely during wukuf to improve on it should there be any weaknesses," he said, adding that it took Theta Edge Berhad two years to fine tune the technology specifically for usage during the haj.
Pilgrims have also been told to keep two other important items given to them by TH - a steel bracelet and an identification tag - safe.
The identification tag has a similar function as the pilgrims' passport and is used for cash withdrawals at TH financial counters here, among others.