Until Carrying Sick Pilgrims, Minister of Religion Yaqut Calls the Performance of 2023 Hajj Officers Exceed Expectations

Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas when delivering a statement to reporters after welcoming the return of Hajj officers at Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Thursday (27/7/2023). (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas appreciated the performance of all the 2023 Hajj pilgrimage Officers in the Holy Land which exceeded expectations.

"This year's Hajj officials were able to grasp the government's wishes through the Ministry of Religion, even exceeding expectations," said Yaqut Cholil Qoumas after welcoming the return of the Hajj Officers at Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, as reported by Antara, Thursday, July 27.

This appreciation was conveyed by Yaqut to PPIH Health as well as officers from the Hajj Media Center (MCH) who participated in covering the report to inform the condition of the pilgrims to their families in Indonesia.

"They have been extraordinary, starting from the media that I know, media friends who left yesterday as the Hajj Media Center, who also reports on the congregation day and night," he said.

Yaqut also appreciated the officers who were willing to share their energy to carry the exhausted hajj participants. In fact, there are those who bathe the hajj participants, even changing diapers.

"Maybe at home, they (Hajj officers) don't have time to do that to their parents," he said.

Yaqut also expressed his appreciation to the health workers who have successfully accompanied around 67,000 elderly people while worshiping in the Holy Land this year.

"That requires health workers to work extra hard and it's extraordinary," he said.

Yaqut admitted that he was a witness to the optimal performance of hajj officers who exceeded expectations.

"That's why I always say that if someone judges these officers with poor performance, I will deal with it," he said.

Yaqud added that the Ministry of Religion plans to cut the term of duty of the Hajj officers in the follow-up batch next year to prevent boredom from working while in Saudi Arabia.

The plan is based on the results of an evaluation of the current 62-78 days of duty for hajj officers. He feels that the duration is too long and has the potential to increase boredom.

"We had a meeting this morning, to make a new scheme so that their duties are not as long as this year or the previous year," he said.