Mochamad Irfan Yusuf: Improvement of Services in Mina is One of the Inputs of the Amirul Hajj Team

JAKARTA - The Amirul Hajj team or the 2026 Hajj Mission Leader has returned to Indonesia and one of the inputs is the improvement of services in Mina which is the most complex service point during the peak of the hajj.

"Some of the recommendations submitted by the team from Amirul Hajj are first, the improvement of services in Mina," said the Minister of Hajj and Umrah (Menhaj) Mochamad Irfan Yusuf at Soekarno Hatta Airport, Banten, Monday.

Menhaj Irfan admitted that one of the weaknesses in the 2026 hajj was in Mina, considering that pilgrims from all over the world gathered at one point with limited space.

According to him, the area of Mina is indeed different from Arafah, only 8-9 square kilometers. Not to mention that some of them are batuse mountains so that the effective area is only about 5 square kilometers. Given the limited land, the density of the congregation cannot be avoided.

"Arafah is around 17 square kilometers, while Mina is only around 8-9 square kilometers, even that can be used because some of the rocks, no more than 5 square kilometers, so there is a density of the number of pilgrims," said Menhaj Irfan.

Other recommendations from Amirul Hajj include improving the timeliness of transportation services in the pre- and post-Armuzna phases, then strengthening accommodation services so that more Hajj participants get hotels closer to the Grand Mosque.

"As well as improving consumption services, which must remain adaptive to the dynamics and situation of the Middle East region," he said.

The Amirul Hajj team also highlighted the importance of quality coordination between PPIH clusters and non-clusters. According to Menhaj, the results of the evaluation showed that Hajj officers who had undergone comprehensive education and training had better service performance.

Because it will standardize training and improve the competence of officers will be one of the focus of improvement in the future.

In the field of health, the Amirul Hajj Team pays special attention to strengthening health services, the system for handling sick pilgrims, and the availability of health workers.

According to Menhaj, health aspects will be one of the main focuses in the implementation of next year's hajj.

"We want to ensure that the departing pilgrims really meet the health aspects of istitha'ah so that they can carry out the entire series of worship well and safely," he said.

In addition to this, the recommendations also include improving the quality of tent and sanitation facilities, reducing the use of plastic waste in Hajj operations, improving the timeline for Hajj implementation, to strengthening the governance of service contracts so that they are more effective, transparent, and accountable.

Menhaj revealed that the Saudi Arabian authorities also appreciated the improvement in the quality of the Indonesian haj.

According to him, the various achievements achieved this year show a leap in progress in the management of public service management which needs to be maintained and improved.

"Various notes and recommendations that we receive will be an important resource to continue to improve the quality of the Indonesian Hajj. Our commitment is to provide services that are increasingly professional, responsive, and oriented towards the needs of pilgrims," said MenhajIrfan.