Kuala Lumpur: A total of 82 prospective Haj pilgrims were duped by an offer to perform the pilgrimage for free through a "sponsorship" scheme. Despite repeated assurances that they would fly to Makkah, they were eventually left stranded at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 yesterday. Among those affected were legendary Malaysian singer Amir UK's (real name Muhammad Azmir Muhammad Yusof), 56, and his wife, Sarimah Ahmad, 51.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the incident began when Amir's wife was informed by a colleague on April 9 about an opportunity to perform Haj, fully sponsored by an individual believed to be a "philanthropist". Following that, their personal details and passport copies were submitted before they were added to a WhatsApp group named 'Tetamu Allah Haji Akbar 2025'. "We were only asked to submit our names and passport numbers. No payment was required," Amir said. All communication took place solely via WhatsApp, managed by certain individuals who were not official travel agents but appointed pilgrims handling the arrangements.
Amir recounted that the pilgrims on the WhatsApp group were asked to attend a Haj course at Grand Barakah, Ampang, on May 24 and to make preparations such as getting vaccinations and submitting their passports. Their total preparation costs were estimated at over RM4,000, but the pilgrims were promised reimbursement from the sponsor, along with pocket money. A Haj offer letter was later shared on WhatsApp on May 27, purportedly from a well-known travel agency, and they were promised a 'mujamalah' visa, which is issued by the Saudi Arabian government to specific individuals or groups.
According to the WhatsApp information, Amir and his wife were scheduled to depart on June 1 on a 5.35 pm flight to Jeddah. "We arrived at KLIA by 11 am. However, no travel agency representative was present, nor were any other pilgrims in sight. We were then informed there would be no group movement to KLIA that day," Amir explained. The next day, a message stated that the flight would take place around 3 am to 5 am on June 3 via a "chartered flight" from the Bunga Raya Complex.
Amir mentioned that the message gave them hope and was convincing, but their wait proved futile as the individual believed to be holding their flight tickets, visas, and passports had not appeared to date. "It was truly heartbreaking because we never expected this to happen, as we were given strong assurances that we would fly on the chartered flight," he shared.
Following the incident, Amir and his wife lodged a police report at the KLIA Police Station to retrieve their passports, which were held by another individual. "Previously, the pilgrims had handed over their passports to the individual managing the Haj arrangements, but after the police report was lodged, we were asked to collect them from Setia Alam," Amir said. However, he noted that they have yet to collect the passports as they want to resolve some other matters first following their failure to travel to the Holy Land.