'Choose Umrah packages with caution' advice
Published on: Friday, November 18, 2016
Beaufort: Muslims in the State have been reminded to be cautious in choosing Umrah packages as fraudulent cases are prevalent now.Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Kamarlin Ombi said a total of 227 such cases were reported from 2012 until October this year which involved visas, flight tickets, cancellations, delays and various other offences."Of the figure, compounds totalling RM372,000 were handed by the Tourism and Culture Ministry in 74 cases under the Tourism Industry Act 1992.ADVERTISEMENT "In the same period, 3,482 cases were filed in the Consumer Claims Tribunal involving claims worth RM21.3 million while the police also received 232 complaints on losses worth RM9.53 million."The Tourism and Culture Ministry had also cancelled the licences of 12 agencies and compounded them from 2009 until 2015," he said during the launching of the State-level public awareness campaign on Umrah fraud, here, on Tuesday.Towards this end, Kamarlin said the Ministry had established the Umrah Monitoring Council in 2014 to serve as a one-stop centre to receive complaints and monitor fraudulent cases.According to him the council comprises the Police, Wakaf, Tithe and Haj Department (Jawhar), Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry, Lembaga Tabung Haji and Malaysian Association of Travel and Tour Agency (Matta).ADVERTISEMENT "As such, I advise the Muslim communities in the State to refer to the council prior to registering with any agency that offers Umrah packages," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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At the same event, Kamarlin, who is also Lumadan Assemblyman, presented house keys under the Housing Assistance Programme (PBR) to 16 households in the area.
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Also present were Tourism and Culture Ministry (Motac) Sabah Office Director, Ag Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar and Tourism Licensing Secretary Siti Nor Minu.