The Ministry of Haj has warned that a person cannot go for Haj with a recommendation letter from a senior official or a member of society. Those who attempt to do this will be handed over to the police. In a circular sent out to all its officials, the ministry said only a Haj permit will allow a person access to Makkah and the holy sites. The ministry further urged domestic Haj companies not to transport any person without a permit and to abide by all regulations on the transportation of pilgrims, according to a report in Al-Hayat Arabic daily newspaper. Meanwhile, Okaz/Saudi Gazette reported that about 30 government and private bodies have committed themselves to the “Haj is worship and civilized behavior” campaign launched recently by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah region. Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Khudairi, Undersecretary at the Makkah Emir's Office and head of the Preparatory and Executive committees on Haj, said government has a great deal of experience in organizing the holy pilgrimage. “It is an exceptional event in terms of time and place. No gatherings are similar to it,” he said, adding that the country has to manage three million people in one small geographic location. In an interview with Okaz/Saudi Gazette published Saturday, he said Prince Khaled wants all workers to continually improve their work performance from year-to-year. It was simply not good enough to match the previous year's performance, he said. All Haj officials and workers know that any negligence or failure to perform their responsibilities toward pilgrims will not be tolerated. Government and private bodies are providing an integrated system of services including accommodation, transport, religious guidance, security, health care and public safety, he said. As part of the “Haj is worship and civilized behavior” campaign, the police have created a new unit with the sole task of preventing people from performing Haj without a permit. The unit has assigned more than 400 police officers to monitor unpaved dirt roads leading to the city and the holy sites, in addition to setting up checkpoints on roads linking Makkah to remote regions. The Traffic Department is implementing a decision banning cars with less than 25 passengers from entering the holy sites. For this purpose the department has increased checkpoints at several important locations and relocated a few others. For Haj this year, the Civil Defense will deploy 22,000 officers, 5,900 vehicles and 19 aircraft.
