Against the Law, Commission VIII of the DPR asks for the 'War Ticket' Hajj discourse to be stopped

Member of Commission VIII of the DPR Atalia Praratya responded to the idea of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah regarding the 'War Ticket' mechanism in order to reduce the waiting queue for pilgrims. According to Atalia, this idea is very premature and must be stopped because it ignores the aspect of social justice, and has the potential to destroy the financial management of Hajj which has been running well so far.

"We all agree that waiting for almost three decades is too long. However, the solution should not come from haste which in fact creates new and bigger problems. Returning the Hajj system to the war ticket mechanism or 'fast race' like before 2017 is a major setback for the reform of Hajj governance in Indonesia," Atalia told reporters, Friday, April 10.

Atalia also highlighted the statement of the Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Mochamad Irfan Yusuf, who proposed a system of "who pays quickly, he leaves". He assessed that this discourse is clearly contrary to Law Number 8 of 2019 concerning the Implementation of the Hajj and Umrah which adheres to the principle of first come first serve based on the registration number of portions (NOPORS).

According to Atalia, the Hajj is a call of the soul, not a click race. "If the war ticket system is implemented, then those who will win are those who have super fast gadgets, the best internet connection, and instant financial ability," he said.

"What about the mothers in the village who have saved for 20 years? What about our grandparents who are gaptek? They will be left out," added the Golkar legislator from the West Java District.

Atalia emphasized that the current queuing system allows the initial deposit fund of pilgrims of Rp. 25 million to be managed productively by the Hajj Finance Management Agency (BPKH). Meanwhile, the value of the benefits from this management is what has been used to subsidize the cost of the hajj, so that the BPIH (Hajj Implementation Fee) can be suppressed.

"If the queue system is removed and returns to the full deposit system directly (lumpsum), the Hajj funds, which reach hundreds of trillions, will dry up. Who will subsidize the pilgrims? Will the cost of Hajj increase drastically?," Atalia said.

To overcome the system's game with the ticket war scheme, and in order to overcome the Hajj queue, Atalia suggested that the government should seriously implement a national single database that is synchronized between the Ministry of Religion and BPKH. With accurate data, according to him, the parties concerned can map out how many pilgrims are actually eligible (eligible for istithaah) every year.

"Focus on the efficiency of departure and infrastructure development there, don't change the system upstream which is in fact a mess," he said.

In addition, Atalia also proposed the need for an affirmative scheme in the queue. Namely, those who have applied for a long time and are now elderly (over 65 years old) must get priority departure without having to participate in the "ticket war".

"This is in accordance with the principle of distributive justice where the state is present to protect the weak," he said.

Atalia also invited all parties, including Commission VIII of the DPR RI and the Ministry of Hajj, not to rush to bury the existing queuing system. He emphasized, the war ticket discourse must be immediately stopped if the academic study is not complete and has not involved broad public participation.

"This is not about innovation or being old-fashioned. This is about protecting 5.5 million pilgrims who are in a long queue. Don't because we want to look progressive, we are abandoning them," concluded Atalia.

Previously, Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, had just stated that the government would form a task force to eradicate illegal hajj because there is no hajj without a queue.

"On one hand we are promoting No Haji Without Queue, on the other hand the minister is talking about war tickets. This is contradictory and will only confuse the public. I am afraid this will be used by touts to offer a 'fast track' with the lure of the new system," said Dahnil.