ID :
378452
Thu, 08/27/2015 - 07:37
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Malaysian Haj Pilgrims Facing No Difficulties In Using RM In Makkah, Madinah

From Mohd Shukri Ishak MAKKAH, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysian pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah are not facing any difficulty in using the Malaysian ringgit (RM) or exchanging it for Saudi riyal. Pilgrims met by Bernama in Makkah said they could use the ringgit directly for purchasing goods, or exchanging it at licensed money changers in the Holy Land as usual. One of them, Ramli Awang, 50, who is putting up at Abraj Al-Janadriah, located about 700 metres from the Grand Mosque, here, said he had been using the Malaysian currency to buy daily necessities from shops near the mosque without any problem. "Traders here are accepting the Malaysian currency as usual, there is no problem," he said. Another pilgrim, Noraini Ahmad, 57, who arrived from Madinah Tuesday, said she had no problem in converting the Malaysian currency at foreign exchange counters while she was in Madinah. Bernama found that businesses around Makkah were still accepting the Malaysian currency just like before. "We still accept it, we just follow the current exchange rate (with Saudi riyal)," said Md Azizi Haque, a clothes trader near one of the Haj pilgrims accommodation centres, here. Sundry shop owner Munir Mahadiah said he accepted payments in the Malaysian currency as usual from the country's pilgrims, who were among his main customers during the Haj season. All the accommodation colleges in Makkah also provide TH financial counters for pilgrims to withdraw money for shopping or other purposes. They will be given Saudi riyal based on the current exchange rate. Meanwhile, TH (Malaysian Pilgrims Fund Board) chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim when speaking to reporters in Malaysia urged pilgrims who have yet to leave for the Holy Land not to be fooled by rumours in the social media that the RM could not be exchanged in Makkah. He said the information was incorrect and hence, pilgrims should not panic. "The information contained in social media saying our currency could not be exchanged, or in other words useless, is false. "I had contacted the TH Operations director (who is in Makkah) early this (Wednesday) morning and he said there was no such problem. "Our money even in small denominations of RM10 and RM5 can be used or exchanged," he told reporters at Kota Gelanggi 4 in Jerantut, Pahang (Malaysian east coast state), after presenting aid to the family of Haj pilgrim Zaleha Yasin, 63, who died from a heart attack in Madinah on Aug 24. (US$1 = RM4.22) -- BERNAMA

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