Not As A Congregation Or A Companion, The KPK Confirms Khalid Basalamah Is Being Investigated Regarding The Ownership Of The Uhud Tour

KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo/PHOTO: Wardhany Tsa Tsia-VOI

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) emphasized that the preacher Khalid Zeed Abdullah or Khalid Basalamah was summoned not as a congregation. He was asked about the ownership of the Uhud Tour which dispatched pilgrims to the Holy Land in 2024.

"So the examination of the witness of KBya's brother is related to his ownership of the Hajj travel agency, yes, which means that he also manages pilgrimage trips for prospective pilgrims," said KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo to reporters at the KPK's Merah Putih building, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta, Monday, September 15.

Budi explained that investigators are currently focusing on exploring the sale and purchase of the Hajj quota, which began with the addition of 20,000 from the Saudi Arabian government to Indonesia.

"Where in the buying and selling process, the KPK also explores whether this quota is traded to pilgrims who can immediately leave without queues or what," he said.

"Because in this special hajj quota there is actually also a queue. Well, it is also explored regarding this matter. Including how much sales, how many contracts are actually needed for organizing the pilgrimage. Well, that includes what is being explored," continued Budi.

Meanwhile, Khalid Basalamah admitted that he was examined by the KPK as a witness for leaving as a congregation along with hundreds of other people. He is known to be questioned on Tuesday, September 9.

The preacher along with hundreds of other people initially departed using a furoda Hajj visa. However, he shifted to a special pilgrimage whose quota turned out to be problematic because he received an offer from Ibnu Mas'ud who was a Commissioner of PT Muhibbah Mulia Wisata.

The preacher also admitted that he did not know that this special hajj quota was then problematic and the case was handled by the KPK. He also claimed that Uhud Tour could not dispatch pilgrims because it was not a travel agent or travel agent for the special pilgrimage organizer (PIHAK).

"The language is Ibnu Masud to us, PT Muhibbah (can, red) an additional quota of 20,000 from the Ministry of Religion. Because we received an official discussion from the Ministry of Religion and I was registered as a congregation at PT Muhibbah," he told reporters after undergoing examination.

Previously reported, the KPK has issued a general investigation warrant (sprindik) for alleged corruption in the addition of quotas and the implementation of Hajj in 2023-2024. This institution reasoned that the issuance was carried out so that they could make forced efforts.

The general Sprindik uses 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 of the Criminal Code. This means that there are state losses that occur due to this corrupt practice.

State losses in the corruption case of quota and Hajj for the period 2023-2024 are said to have reached more than IDR 1 trillion. This amount is still increasing because it is only the initial calculation of the KPK which continues to coordinate with the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).

This case began with the provision of 20,000 additional Hajj quotas from the Saudi Arabian government for Indonesia to reduce queues for pilgrims. However, the distribution turned out to be problematic because it was divided equally, namely 50 percent for regular Hajj and 50 percent for special Hajj.

In fact, based on the law, the distribution should be 92 percent for regular Hajj and 8 percent for special Hajj.

Later, the distribution of problems was allegedly due to money from the Hajj and Umrah travel parties as well as the associations that oversee the Ministry of Religion. After getting the allotment, they sold the additional quota to prospective pilgrims.