554 Malaysian Haj Pilgrims Due In Madinah Monday

From Hafizah Kamaruddin MADINAH, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- A total of 279 pilgrims from Alor Setar of Malaysia's northern state Kedah, touched down at 2.15pm local time (7.15pm Malaysian time) here Monday. They came on Haj flight KT16 which left Alor Setar at 10.45am Malaysian time. Meanwhile, a second Haj flight, KT17, from Senai in Malaysia's southern state Johor, carrying another 275 pilgrims is due to arrive at 10.35pm local time (2.35am Malaysian time on Tuesday). The arrival of these two flights brings the total number of Malaysian pilgrims in Madinah to 5,431 people. A total of 22,320 Malaysians are scheduled to perform the pilgrimage, the fifth pillar of Islam, this year. --BERNAMA