Members Of Parliament From Democrats Wonder: How Come Cost Of Hajj In Indonesia Has Increased, Whereas In Saudi Arabia It Has Decreased?

Member of the Indonesian House of Representatives from the Democratic Faction A S Sukawijaya. (ANTARA)

SEMARANG - Member of the Republic of Indonesia DPR from the Democratic Party AS Sukawijaya admitted that he was surprised and said that the plan of the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) to increase the cost of the hajj was burdensome for the community in the midst of economic recovery after the COVID 19 pandemic.

"In Saudi Arabia, the cost of hajj has decreased, you know, why do they want to increase here? Please don't, now it's still in the process of economic recovery after the pandemic," said the legislator who is familiarly called Yoyok Sukawi as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, January 25.

According to him, the waiting time to perform the pilgrimage in Indonesia is long enough, so it is hoped that prospective pilgrims will not be burdened with an increase in costs.

"In Indonesia, the waiting time to perform the pilgrimage after registering is quite long, don't let this become a burden, because Indonesian people have saved enough money just to be able to register for Hajj, why are there now suggestions for an increase," he said.

The Democratic Party politician asked the Ministry of Religion to reconsider the plan to increase the cost of hajj.

Previously, the Ministry of Religion proposed that the average Hajj Travel Expense (Bipih) for 1444 Hijriah/2023 AD would be IDR 98.89 million per pilgrim, an increase of IDR 514.88 thousand compared to last year.

Of this amount, the costs that need to be borne by the congregation reach 70 percent or IDR 69.19 million per person. Meanwhile, the remaining 30 percent, or IDR 29.7 million is paid from the value of the benefits of managing the Hajj funds.

"This proposal is based on the consideration of fulfilling the principles of justice and sustainability of the Hajj funds. This formulation has gone through a review process," said Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, last Thursday.