Hajj Pilgrims Should Not Cook in Hotel Rooms: Minister
18 September 2015 18:46 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Mecca - Religious Affairs Ministry plans to forbid Hajj pilgrims from cooking in their hotel rooms following a recent fire caused by a faulty rice cooker, which was left unattended while its' owners were out praying.
"The incident has been noted and will be evaluated by the Religious Affairs Ministry," said Religious Affairs Minister, Lukman Hakim Saifuddin in Mecca on Friday, September 18.
Saifuddin made the statement after visiting the lodging where the incident took place. The fire, which broke out on the eighth floor of the Sakkab Al Barakah hotel - has necessitated the relocation of some of its' residents due to the fire damage.
"We need to limit the use of cooking equipments within rooms - if need be, we could enact an outright ban on cooking in hotel rooms," said Lukman, who said that some of the equipments brought by pilgrims on Hajj, might be of a questionable standards, which makes it susceptible to fires when left unattended for an extended period of time.
The Minister hopes that the fire - which necessitated the evacuation of the entire building when it happened - would serve as a lesson for Indonesian pilgrims, that cooking in an enclosed hotel room may cause extensive and dangerous fires to break out.
"The hotel has asked our government to advise pilgrims against using electrical cooking equipments in their hotel rooms," said Lukman, who then added that the fact that official caterers could only provide 15 lunches throughout the pilgrims' stay makes it difficult to enact such ban.
"The fact that there are no more streetside food vendors in Mecca makes it all the more difficult for pilgrims to find food," said Lukman, who explained that the Saudi Arabian government has applied stringent regulations on fast food stalls across the country since last year.
"We need to think about food supplies in Mecca, and we need to increase the number of meals served per day. It doesn't have to be three times - it could be twice daily, similar to current arrangements in Medina," said the Minister.
ANTARA
