MATTA Warns About Cheap Umrah Packages

The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) has advised the public to learn to treat cheap tour packages, particularly for umrah, with great suspicion to avoid getting scammed.

MATTA president Hamzah Rahmat said the public should only deal with and buy umrah packages from registered travel agents licensed by the Tourism and Culture Ministry and not unlicensed companies or individuals.

"There is no such thing as cheap umrah packages and those who are led to believe that they can get anything cheaper than the minimum RM4,900 for a basic package would discover later, but then it will be already too late," he said in a statement today.

Yesterday, the police exposed an umrah package fraud by an entity in Terengganu involving losses estimated at RM14.2 million that had affected 4,800 potential pilgrims.

Hamzah said those involved in the umrah scam should be prosecuted and slapped with the maximum penalty, which was necessary to serve as a strong deterrent against those taking advantage of gullible people.

He also urged any interested benefactor who wished to subsidise umrah packages to work with Matta for the benefit of pilgrims.