Jokowi's Story Of The Prince Of Saudi Arabia Surprised To Know The Obstacles Of Indonesian Hajj Reaches 47 Years

President Jokowi. (doc. BPMI Setpres-Lukas)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo said the additional quota given by the Saudi Arabian government for departure in 2024 could shorten the waiting time for pilgrims to two years earlier.

This was conveyed by Jokowi while attending the 2023 Santri Day commemoration Ceremony Ceremony in Surabaya, East Java, Sunday, October 22. Jokowi recounted the results of a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabian Prime Minister (PM) Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud on the sidelines of the ASEAN-GCC Summit in Riyadh, Friday, October 20.

"At that time he conveyed many things related to Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. I see how happy it seems that this is the prince of MBS. Then I conveyed to His Excellency, Indonesia now that if you want to have a pilgrimage, you have to wait 47 years," said President Jokowi in his speech which was witnessed through a video of the Presidential Secretariat YouTube account.

Jokowi also revealed that Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud or what he called Prince MBS was surprised when he learned that the waiting time for the pilgrimage in Indonesia could reach 47 years.

The Head of State also said that during the bilateral meeting, Prince MBS's mood looked happy.

Jokowi also took the opportunity to appeal to Prince MBS regarding the additional hajj quota, considering that the Indonesian population has now reached 278 million people.

Prince MBS also granted President Jokowi's request by increasing the quota for the departure of the 2024 Hajj by 20 thousand pilgrims.

With this additional quota, the waiting time for the pilgrimage departure can be shortened by two years from a maximum of 47 years to 45 years.

"This is a very large number so that those who wait 47 years can advance to 45 years, yes it is still a long time but at least progress," said Jokowi.

Previously, Indonesia in 2024 received a quota of 221,000 people to send for Hajj with a quota of 2,200 Hajj officers.

The Indonesian government has started preparing for the implementation of Hajj services in 1445 Hijri/2024 AD, including preparing Hajj officers with qualifications that suit their needs.

The Director General of Hajj and Umrah (PHU) of the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) Hilman Latief conveyed the importance of careful planning for the preparation of Hajj officers, including establishing qualifications and placement schemes in an effort to improve the quality of Hajj services.