Firman Muhammad Nur Welcomes The Announcement Of ONH, The Amount Of ONH Plus Cannot Be Announced Because Of This

JAKARTA - Firman Nur Muhammad, General Chairperson of the Muslim Association for Hajj and Umrah Organizers of the Republic of Indonesia (AMPHURI) welcomed the announcement by Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas regarding the Hajj Riding Fee (ONH) for 1443H/2022M of Rp39,886,009 per hajj pilgrim. However, as the organizers of the Hajj Plus trip, they have not been able to report about the ONH Plus number that will be applied to the congregation.

According to Firman, the cost of the pilgrimage (Bipih) has been calculated carefully so that the figure appears. "We appreciate the government which has announced the amount of ONH for 2022. Hopefully this can be welcomed by prospective pilgrims who have registered to fulfill the fifth pillar of Islam," he said.

According to Farid Aljawi, Secretary General of AMPHURI, the cost set by the government for ONH this year is relatively cheap. "The cost is relatively cheap. Because the costs incurred for ONH are more than what was announced. There is a subsidy from the government for departing pilgrims," he said.

Therefore, he continued, there is no need to question the amount of fees that have been announced. "There is no need to worry about these costs. The increase in costs is not too significant when compared to the delays that have occurred so far," he continued. Currently, the requirements for congregations to worship in the holy land, said Farid Aljawi, are getting looser.

He hopes that the conditions in the holy land will be more conducive, this can happen until the implementation of the pilgrimage later. "The seriousness of the Indonesian government and Saudi Arabia in the affairs of the pilgrimage is shown by the reduced requirements to enter the holy land related to health protocols," he said.

When asked how much Bipih was for Hajj plus, Firman could not tell him yet. "For ordinary ONH, it is subsidized by the government, while all ONH plus is charged to the congregation. So how much the figure for ONH plus must be carefully recalculated. So we can't announce the amount yet," said Firman.

Firman and Farid both expressed their appreciation to the Saudi Arabian government for opening the door to Hajj pilgrims after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. "We give our appreciation to the Saudi Arabian government for opening the door for pilgrims. In 2022, the quota for domestic pilgrims is 150 thousand. Meanwhile, international pilgrims are 850 thousand. This is what is divided among all countries around the world where there are Muslims who will perform the pilgrimage," said the Word.

An appeal to pilgrims who have received certainty about going for Hajj since 2000 to prepare themselves as much as possible. "Please prepare physically and mentally because the implementation of the Hajj this year may be a little different from the previous year, because this is the first hajj which was opened after the pandemic case had slowed down. Now everything is new after being stopped for a while due to the pandemic," said Farid.

"We all hope that the first Hajj pilgrimage after two years of this pandemic will run smoothly. So that the next year the Hajj will be normal as before. The quota for Indonesian pilgrims can also return to what it was before the pandemic occurred," said Firman Nur Muhammad.