Komnas Haji regarding the Yaqut Pre-trial: The Minister of Religion has the authority for special Hajj quotas according to the mandate of the Law.

JAKARTA - Chairman of the National Commission for Hajj and Umrah, Mustolih Siradj, also highlighted the case involving former Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas regarding the determination of the 2023-2024 Hajj quota. Mustolih emphasized that the Minister of Religion has the authority to determine the distribution of special and regular Hajj quotas.

"Whether the authority to divide the quota is the authority (Minister of Religion) what is the name of the 50-50 division is correct or not. For us it is the authority, indeed the minister has the authority," Mustolih told reporters, Thursday, March 5.

Mustolih explained that this authority is regulated in Law Number 8 of 2019 concerning the Implementation of Hajj and Umrah.

"Where? In Article 9, right? In Article 9 of Law Number 8 of 2019. Ready, heeh. It's just that it is stated there that if there is an additional quota, it is the minister's authority. So it's not discretionary," he explained.

Mustolih emphasized that in interpreting Article 9 of Law Number 8 of 2019, it cannot be separated from the previous article. Because, he said, in Article 8 it is regulated regarding the general quota for Hajj.

"And if you read Article 9, yes, Article 9 of Law Number 8 of 2019 cannot be separated from Article 8 of Mas. Because Article 8 is talking about quotas in general, regular quotas, special quotas, right, special hajj. Well, then Article 9 is the foundation used by the minister at that time, in this case, Gus Yaqut to divide because it is the authority of the minister," said Mustolih.

Article 9 of Law Number 8 of 2019, which Mustolih referred to, reads:

"Article 9 paragraph (1) of the Law on the Implementation of the Hajj and Umrah reads: "In the event that there is an increase in the Indonesian Hajj quota after the Minister has determined the Hajj quota as referred to in Article 8 paragraph (2), the Minister shall determine the additional Hajj quota."

Article 9 paragraph (2): "Provisions regarding the filling of additional Hajj quotas are regulated by Ministerial Regulation."

Regarding the allocation of the hajj quota, Yaqut Cholil Qumas previously emphasized that the policy was the jurisdiction of the Saudi Arabian Government. Indonesia, according to him, is bound by regulations and bilateral agreements that have been agreed upon by both countries.

"Hajj is juridically in Saudi Arabia, so it is not solely the authority of the Indonesian government. We are bound by regulations in Saudi Arabia, including the issue of quota sharing, because there is an MoU that serves as a reference," said Yaqut at the South Jakarta District Court, Tuesday, February 24.

He said the Minister of Religion (KMA) Decree issued at that time was issued on the basis of the agreement.

According to Yaqut, the only consideration in the allocation of quotas is the principle of protecting the safety of the pilgrims' lives, given the limited capacity in Saudi Arabia.

"My only consideration is the safety of the pilgrims," he said.

Meanwhile, Yaqut's legal team added that the Minister of Religion's Decision (KMA) 130/2024 did not meet the requirements for sufficient evidence regarding the accusation of acts against the law/abuse of authority.

"That the use of KMA 130/2024 as the basis for proof does not meet the requirements of sufficient evidence to conclude that there has been an act against the law and/or abuse of authority. KMA 130/2024 is positioned as an administrative decision issued by the APPLICANT as the Minister of Religion in carrying out the duties of organizing the hajj pilgrimage based on Law Number 8 of 2019 concerning the Implementation of the Hajj and Umrah, including by considering the situation in the field for the smooth and safety of the congregation, and based on the international agreement Ta'limatul Hajj which lists additional quota allocations for the Regular Zone 10,000 and the Special Zone 10,000," said Yaqut's lawyer.

In the pretrial application, the lawyer explained that according to the principle of presumption of just cause (praesumptio iustae causa), KMA 130/2024 must be considered valid and not against the law as long as it is still valid and has not been canceled, because it is the basis for the wheels of government not to stop (in this case the implementation of the hajj continues to run by prioritizing the smoothness and safety of the congregation).

"Because there are no 2 (two) pieces of evidence that prove that KMA 130/2024 is an act against the law and/or abuse of authority, then at the time of the determination of the suspects, the determination was narrated not based on the adequacy of the evidence required by the regulations. Therefore, the determination of the suspects issued by TERMOHON must be declared invalid and not legally binding," said the lawyer.