Minister Of Religion Checks Tent Service Preparations To Toilets In Arafah

Minister of Religion (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas tried additional golf car facilities that will be used to assist the mobility of worshipers while in Arafah and Mina, Tuesday (20/6). BETWEEN THE 2023 ANTARA/HO-MCH

Minister of Religion (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas ensured the readiness of congregational facilities ahead of the peak of the hajj by reviewing services in Arafah carried out by Masyariq or Muassasah starting from tents, kitchens and toilets.

"Today, I checked the preparations at Arafah that Masyariq did. I think so far it is good. There are some that have not been completed and they promised two days to finish," said the Minister of Religion in Arafah as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, June 20.

Masyariq is a service provider company in Masya'ir (Arafah, Muzdalifah, and Mina) for Hajj pilgrims. Masyariq is the development of an institutional form of muasasah. Before 2022, service providers for Indonesian pilgrims in Masya'ir were known as Muasasah Southeast Asia (Muasasah Janub Syarq Asia).

At that time, his services were limited to Southeast Asian countries and after becoming a company, his name changed to Masyariq and its services were wider, not limited to Southeast Asian countries but also for other regions.

I also see toilets and this is the most crucial. I see, last year's promise was kept for the addition of toilets. Thank God, hopefully next year the toilets will be added because there are still many vacant land that can be used to add toilets," said the Minister of Religion.

The addition of toilet facilities, continued the Minister of Religion, is very important, because most Indonesian pilgrims are women and in general it takes longer time when in the toilet, than men.

"This is good, wider, cleaner than before. Alhamdulillah, hopefully our congregation can worship well. Toilets are also prepared for disabilities," explained Gus Men, his nickname.

Arriving in Arafah at around 17.30 Saudi Arabia Time, the Minister of Religion first reviewed the readiness of Indonesian pilgrims' tents. The Minister of Religion saw that the tents had been held on a red carpet, and were equipped with foam mattress facilities.

The Minister of Religion also had time to sit on the bed to try the quality of the beds that had been prepared and this mattress service was given for the first time by Masyariq during the Hajj pilgrimage 1443 H/2022 AD.

The tent facility, which is clearly the AC, is cooler. There is an additional AC in the tent, so it is cooler. H-2 before wukuf in Arafah, God willing, everything is ready to be finished. There are no worries. Later D-2 we will check again. Hopefully what was conveyed by Masyariq is really realized," he said.

In addition to tents and toilets, the Minister of Religion also saw the preparation of Arafah's kitchen. While in Arafah, food for pilgrims is cooked in the kitchens that have been prepared, so the readiness of the kitchen is very important because it is pleased with the logistics of the congregation.

I also saw the kitchen. The kitchen is also clean and good compared to when I was a regular pilgrim in 2004. This is very different. Alhamdulillah, hopefully our pilgrims can be served well," he hoped.

The Minister of Religion and his staff also tried additional facilities in the form of golf cars that would be used to help the mobility of pilgrims.

This year Masyariq has also prepared a golf cart in Arafah. This car is to patrol if there are pilgrims who need help, so this car is expected to accelerate access to help our congregation," said Gus Men.

Gus Men said there were 65 golf cars prepared by Masyariq. Apart from Arafah, this car will also be used in Mina to deliver pilgrims at the nearest point to the congregation, especially for the elderly.

"I think the improvements in services carried out by Masyariq and the Saudi government have been very good. This is in accordance with the agreement we discussed last year," said Gus Men.

After the pilgrimage is complete, continued Gus Men, an evaluation will be carried out and the results will be submitted to the relevant Ministry of Hajj for improvements in the implementation next year.

Meanwhile, regarding the preparation of facilities at Mina, Gus Men admitted that he would check on Wednesday, June 21, 2023.

"I haven't been to Mina yet, I'll check it first. Maybe tomorrow morning we will check the preparations at Mina. Everything will be checked later," said the Minister of Religion.