The second haj flight of Brunei pilgrims safely landed yesterday morning.
The arrival of 250 haj pilgrims at the Brunei International Airport was welcomed by Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman and spouse, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, as the Chairman of Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (Perbadanan TAIB) Board of Directors and spouse; Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar and spouse; Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Pengiran Dato Seri Paduka Haji Mohd Tashim bin Pengiran Haji Hassan and spouse; Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Brunei Darussalam Emad bin Abdul Aziz bin Saad Al Muhanna; Commissioner of Police Dato Paduka Seri Haji Mohammad Irwan bin Haji Hambali; Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) Haji Mohammad Rosli bin Haji Ibrahim; Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Haji Muhamad Fakhri bin Haji Mohd Taib; Deputy Permanent Secretary (Policy and Religious) at the MoRA Haji Mohd Serudin bin Haji Timbang, as well as Haj Advisory Committee Members, directors and senior officials of the MoRA, and directors of the haj package operators.
The haj pilgrims included officials from the Haj Management Department, Darussalam Services Sdn Bhd (DSSB) and At-Taqwa Travel Tours Sdn Bhd.
To bless the return of the haj pilgrims, a Doa was recited by Assistant State Mufti (‘Ifta) and Chairman of the Perbadanan TAIB Syariah Advisory Committee Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Dennie bin Haji Abdullah.
“Alhamdulillah, it was a truly amazing and an unforgettable experience, I hope all our deeds have been accepted and everyone has achieved a Mabrur Haj,” said pilgrim, Haji Bismil bin Haji Abdul Bakar.
Meanwhile, Dr Haji Tassim bin Haji Abu Bakar, who performed the haj with his wife, shared that there were challenges, especially while in Mina and Arafah.
“With an estimated 1.6 million Muslims performing haj this year, there were some challenges in Mina and Arafah. However it was manageable and everyone was able to perform haj safely, thanks to the rules and policies put in place by the Saudi government,” he said. – Adib Noor
