SINGAPORE - The MyHaj portal – used by Muslims to register for their annual pilgrimage, known as the haj – on the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore’s (Muis) website is down due to technical issues.

Registration for the haj opened at 10am on Tuesday. A check by The Straits Times at 6.15pm showed the following message on the website: “MyHajSG portal is currently experiencing technical issues with the Haj registration system.

“We seek your understanding and patience in this matter as we work to solve this issue, and will update members of the public once the system is up and running.”

The same message was posted by Muis on its Facebook page at 12.05pm.

The haj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and Muslims who are physically and financially able to do so are expected to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, at least once in their lifetime.

Muis announced in January that Singapore’s allocation for the annual pilgrimage in 2023 was 900 places, the same number as in 2022 and before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Singapore was initially allocated 407 places in 2022, but that quota was later increased.

On Feb 10, Muis said that letters of offer would be sent out to 900 prospective pilgrims via SMS and e-mail. The places will be allocated to those who have already registered, and can meet the conditions and requirements for the 2023 pilgrimage.

ST has contacted Muis for their response.