The parliament committee has approved the bill to allow pilgrims to fund their Hajj trips with money from the pension fund.

The bill was proposed on behalf of the government by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s parliamentary group leader Mohamed Aslam last Tuesday.

The committee will send the bill to the parliament floor for voting at Saturday’s sitting.

According to the bill, a person can pay 50 percent of the official fee for Hajj declared by the government that year using the pension fund.

A person must receive MVR 2,000 per month under the Maldives retirement pension scheme to be eligible to utilize the pension fund for their pilgrimage trip.

Utilizing the pension to fund a person’s pilgrimage trip is a pledge of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in his 100-day’s agenda.