| Syazwani Hj Rosli |
THE third flight ferrying Brunei Darussalam’s 235 Haj pilgrims from the holy land arrived safely at the Brunei International Airport yesterday at 7.36am.
The returning Haj pilgrims were 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 along with Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof.
A recitation of Doa Selamat was led by Mosque Affairs Officer at the Jame’ ‘Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Awangku Ahmad Faris Ramadhani bin Pengiran Haji Sellahuddin upon their arrival.
Also present were Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Pengiran Dato Seri Paduka Haji Bahrom bin Pengiran Haji Bahar and spouse; Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdul Aziz bin Orang Kaya Maharaja Lela Haji Mohd Yussof and spouse; Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Mohammad Irwan bin Haji Hambali as representative of the Commissioner of Police and spouse; Deputy Permanent Secretary (Policy and Religious) at the MoRA Haji Mohd Serudin bin Haji Timbang and spouse; First Secretary at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Brunei Darussalam Ali Abdullah A Al-Shehry; senior officials from MoRA and Haj operating companies.
Hundreds of family members of the returning pilgrims were seen eagerly awaiting their arrival, and tears flowed as loved ones were reunited after being apart for a month.
One of the returning Haj pilgrims, Haji Bujang bin Haji Metarshad in an interview with the Weekend Bulletin said that his Haj journey with his wife went smoothly.
“Alhamdulillah, everything went well. The arrangements were good and we are happy to return and see our family again. I hope to visit the holy land again, Insya Allah,” he added.
Meanwhile, the fourth and final flight is expected to arrive in Brunei today at around 2.55pm.