The Malaysian Insight

PUTRAJAYA should strengthen the Umrah Special Licence (LKU) to curb  scams after cancelling the Integrated Manasik Monitoring System (IMAMS), says the Umrah and Haj Tourism Agencies Association (Papuh).

Its president, Razali Mohd Sham, told The Malaysian Insight he welcomed IMAMS’ cancellation and urged the government to assist some 400 travel agencies that organise umrah packages to secure the LKU.

“We welcome the cancellation. For me, the government should appoint all 400 agencies… help those without the licenses, guide them (while) the illegal ones, they should be punished accordingly.

“Make sure they have a licence and inform the public which ones are licenced, then only enforce the (payment) system,” he said when contacted.

Razali said the Tourism and Culture Ministry should charge only between RM15 and RM20 per pilgrim after it had assisted all legal travel agencies handling umrah activities to secure the LKU.

The licence was introduced on October 1, and umrah tour operators that submitted their applications by the end of this year would get fee exemptions.  

Currently, only 65 tour agencies have the LKU according to a list on the Tourism and Culture Ministry.

A LKU licence-holder must be a Malaysian Muslim and a tour agency’s director or shareholder who has attended the Tourism and Culture Ministry’s special umrah course (KPPU).

The license holder must also be a member of the Bumiputera Travel and Tour Association of Malaysia (Bumitra) and the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) for at least six months, according to Harian Metro.

Razali also urged the government to consult all umrah travel agencies before implementing any policies that would affect them.

“(The government) must discuss (with us) because they might overlook some issues,” he said.

IMAMS was rolled out on Friday, but Deputy Tourism and Culture Minister Mas Ermieyati announced its cancellation yesterday after fierce public opposition.

She claimed that IMAMS – a new visa application process to Saudi Arabia that would cost each pilgrim RM90.10 – would help curb umrah fraud.

Under IMAMS, each pilgrim would be charged RM45 for visa application fee, RM40 for takaful insurance and RM5.10 Goods and Services Tax.

Papuh had argued that the existing visa application fee and insurance were cheaper.

Even Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday said he agreed with IMAMS’ cancellation.

Some 250,000 Muslims performed the pilgrimage in 2017 and this number is expected to increase to 300,000 next year, according to ministry figures.

Between 2012 and 2017, the Malaysian Consumer Claims Tribunal recorded 3,762 cases fraudulent pilgrimage tours involving claims worth more than RM23 million.

Police statistics showed that in the same period, 290 complaints of umrah scams involving RM11.5 million were recorded. – December 17, 2017,