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Kualalumpur: Malaysian are not able to perform Hajj pilgrimage this year considering the ongoing global CoronaVirus pandemic.

The decision to cancel was based on consultations with the Health Ministry of Malaysia and the Malaysian Hajj Pilgrims’ Fund Board (Tabung Haji), as well as with members of a special meeting of the Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs Malaysia that took place on June 9.

“The pilgrimage for all Malaysians for the Hajj season of Hijrah 1441 is postponed to next year,” Dr. Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, a minister in the prime minister’s office, said on Thursday at a press conference.

Al-Bakri said that the Hajj postponement to 2021 was made after taking into consideration the safety, health, and well-being of Malaysians.

This year’s Hajj starts around July 28 and the country was due to send about 31,600 pilgrims.