Hajj Fees Are Proposed To Increase, Commission VIII Will Investigate Which Posts Have Increased Rates

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JAKARTA - Commission VIII will discuss the Ministry of Religion's (Kemenag) proposal regarding the increase in the Cost of Organizing Hajj (BPIH) for 2024. The proposal to increase the cost of Hajj must prioritize the value of the capacity of the congregation.

"We must also pay attention to the aspect of justice in using the value of benefits and prioritizing the ability of the congregation or istitha'ah," said Deputy Chairman of Commission VIII DPR, Ace Hasan Syadzily, Tuesday, November 14.

Previously, the Ministry of Religion proposed an increase in the cost of Hajj to around Rp. 105 million per congregation. The BPIH proposal figure in 2024 increased by around Rp. 25 million from the previous year's determination of Rp. 90,050,637.26 per regular pilgrimage.

According to Ace, the increase will still be studied by Commission VIII of the DPR as a partner of the Ministry of Religion.

"The 2024 BPIH proposal submitted by the Minister of Religion is IDR 105,095,033. We will explore and discuss it at Commission VIII of the DPR RI in the BPIH Working Committee (Panja)," he said.

"This will also be discussed in proportion, namely how much will be paid directly by the congregation or Bipih and taken from the value of the benefits managed by the Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH)," added Ace.

BPIH is grouped into two components that are charged directly to pilgrims or Bipih (Hajj Travel Biaya), and the components charged to the benefit value fund (optimization).

The BPIH component formulation policy is taken in order to balance the amount of the burden on the congregation with the sustainability of the value of benefits in the future. Meanwhile, the BPIH budget includes components of flight costs, accommodation, consumption, transportation, Armuzna, embarkation/debarkation, immigration, travel documents, to living expenses.

Ace said that Commission VIII of the DPR will review which elements have increased. Thus, it can be seen the reasons for the changes to BPIH next year.

"We will investigate where the proposed increase in costs of the Indonesian Ministry of Religion is. What components of the Hajj costs have increased. What costs have increased, both in Saudi Arabia and domestic services," explained Ace.

The House of Representatives Commission is committed to resolving the issue of the cost of departing Indonesian pilgrims to the holy land. Of course, said Ace, by prioritizing the value of the abilities and abilities of the pilgrims from Indonesia.

"In principle, Commission VIII of the DPR RI will try to pay the Hajj paid by the congregation next year, not too much increase compared to the previous year," said the legislator from the West Java II electoral district.

Despite the increase, Ace reminded the Government to improve the system for the implementation of the Hajj. The hope is that the shortcomings that had occurred a lot during the previous Hajj do not happen again in the future.

Thus, Indonesian Hajj pilgrims can carry out the 5th Islamic pillars solemnly and tawadhu. The increase in the cost of Hajj must be accompanied by an increase in facilities.

"Of course we want to encourage congregational services and facilities for Hajj next year to be much better than in previous years," concluded Ace.