Questioned By KPK Today Regarding Hajj Quota Corruption, Khalid Basalamah Talks Less

Khalid Zeed Abdullah, preacher and owner of the Uhud Tour travel agency, at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building in Jakarta, Tuesday, September 9, 2025 (Tsa Tsia/VOI)

JAKARTA - Preacher and owner of the Uhud Tour travel agency, Khalid Zeed Abdullah, also known as Khalid Basalamah, arrived at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)'s Merah Putih building in Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta, today, September 9th. He was tight-lipped upon arrival for questioning regarding alleged corruption in the 2023-2024 Hajj quota and organization at the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Khalid arrived at the anti-corruption commission office at around 11:03 a.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB). He was accompanied by several people, including his attorney.

He didn't make many statements before entering the KPK building. He chose to hurry when asked by several media personnel.

"There's nothing (to say regarding the questioning, ed.). We haven't entered yet," Khalid told the media briefly.

Furthermore, Khalid explained that he had only responded to investigators' summons due to a previous absence. He was supposed to be questioned on Tuesday, September 2nd, but did not attend.

"Yes, this is a repeat because we had a study schedule yesterday, so we couldn't," he emphasized.

Meanwhile, when asked about the additional Hajj quota that Uhud Tour received from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Khalid remained silent. He quickened his pace and entered the building.

KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo stated that Khalid would be questioned regarding the alleged Hajj quota corruption currently being handled. "The previous questioning has been rescheduled," he confirmed when confirmed.

Budi emphasized that Khalid was presented as a factual witness. His testimony as the owner of Uhud Tour was required.

"As the owner of the Hajj travel agency, he is a factual witness, so his testimony is certainly needed to uncover and shed light on this case," Budi said.

As previously reported, the KPK has issued a general investigation warrant (sprindik) regarding the alleged corruption in the additional quota and the organization of the 2023-2024 Hajj. The agency argued that the issuance was done so they could take coercive measures.

The general investigation warrant applies Article 2 Paragraph 1 and/or Article 3 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, as amended by Law Number 20 of 2021 in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph 1, point 1 of the Criminal Code. This means that state losses have occurred as a result of this corrupt practice.

The state losses in this corruption case involving the 2023-2024 Hajj quota and administration are said to have reached over IDR 1 trillion. This figure is still expected to increase as it is only a preliminary calculation from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which continues to coordinate with the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).

This case stemmed from the Saudi Arabian government's provision of 20,000 additional Hajj quotas for Indonesia to reduce the queue of pilgrims.

However, the distribution turned out to be problematic because the quotas were divided equally, 50 percent for regular Hajj and 50 percent for special Hajj.

According to the law, the allocation should be 92 percent for regular Hajj and 8 percent for special Hajj.

The distribution is suspected to be due to money received from Hajj and Umrah travel agencies and associations affiliated with the Ministry of Religious Affairs. They then sell the additional quotas to prospective Hajj pilgrims.