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| Source: Dr Yaacob's Facebook page. Dr Yaacob (left) with His Excellency Dr Bandar Bin Mohamed Al-Hajjar, KSA's Minister of Haj. |
Associate Professor Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs said on his Facebook page that the Singapore delegation, consisting of officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) - including Chief Executive of Muis Haji Abdul Razak Maricar - had met with officials in KSA to further the interests of the Malay/Muslim community.
During the meeting with His Excellency Dr Bandar Bin Mohamed Al-Hajjar, KSA's Minister of Haj, Dr Yaacob presented a letter from Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to His Majesty King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud that appeals for a revision of Singapore’s official Hajj quota. Currently at 680, Singapore is requesting a revision to 800 annually, as well as an additional 200 places to make Singapore’s allocation 1,000 pilgrims for this year’s Hajj, Dr Yaacob said.
"We provided our assurance that Singapore is willing to comply with all the requirements for the additional pilgrims and will ensure their welfare, safety and security. In view of Singapore’s increased Muslim populace, the additional number of places would greatly help to meet the demand and aspirations of Singaporean Muslims in fulfilling our religious obligation," stated Dr Yaacob on Facebook.
"We have put forth our best efforts especially in humbly seeking the Kingdom’s permission to allow more Singaporean pilgrims to perform the Hajj. I am deeply grateful to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for lending his strong support in personally writing to King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to revise Singapore’s Hajj quota. While we hope for a favourable reply, we must also understand the heavy responsibility and complexity of Hajj operations undertaken by the Kingdom especially with the ongoing redevelopment works at the Holy Cities. So I urge our community to be patient and continue with our doa for a good outcome, in sha Allah."
In a separate Facebook post Dr Yaacob noted that heavy construction and redevelopment work is still taking place at the Masjid al Haram in Makkah. "Pilgrims will greatly benefit from the upgraded facilities and amenities when the works are completed," he said.
Read the Suroor Asia blog post about the Ministry of Haj's overview of Hajj 2016
Read the Suroor Asia blog post about the Qatari visit to the Ministry of Haj
Read the Suroor Asia post about Singapore's meeting with the Ministry of Haj in 2015
Hashtag: #yaacobibrahim
"We have put forth our best efforts especially in humbly seeking the Kingdom’s permission to allow more Singaporean pilgrims to perform the Hajj. I am deeply grateful to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for lending his strong support in personally writing to King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to revise Singapore’s Hajj quota. While we hope for a favourable reply, we must also understand the heavy responsibility and complexity of Hajj operations undertaken by the Kingdom especially with the ongoing redevelopment works at the Holy Cities. So I urge our community to be patient and continue with our doa for a good outcome, in sha Allah."
In a separate Facebook post Dr Yaacob noted that heavy construction and redevelopment work is still taking place at the Masjid al Haram in Makkah. "Pilgrims will greatly benefit from the upgraded facilities and amenities when the works are completed," he said.
Read the Suroor Asia blog post about the Ministry of Haj's overview of Hajj 2016
Read the Suroor Asia blog post about the Qatari visit to the Ministry of Haj
Read the Suroor Asia post about Singapore's meeting with the Ministry of Haj in 2015
Hashtag: #yaacobibrahim