Kemenhaj prohibits regional heads from being Hajj officers 2026

Illustration of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims (ANTARA)

SURABAYA - Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mochamad Irfan Yusuf emphasized that regional heads such as regents and mayors are not allowed to become Regional Hajj Officers (PHD) in the implementation of the 2026 hajj. This policy was taken to maximize service to the congregation.

Irfan said the status of regional heads was considered potentially hindering the optimization of service tasks because they still had government responsibilities that could not be left behind during the hajj season.

"This year, God willing, the regional head cannot be a haji officer. The reason is that the Ministry of Religion wants to maximize the service," said Irfan at the Surabaya Embarkation Hajj Dormitory, Thursday, January 22.

According to him, although regional heads have capacity and experience, the burden of duty as public officials is feared to interfere with the focus on serving pilgrims in the field.

"Although the regent does not mean that he cannot serve, but he is a civil servant who has other activities and that can interfere with the service of the congregation," he said.

Irfan revealed that a number of his colleagues from the pesantren who are now serving as regencies had asked for permission to become PhDs. However, the request was still rejected for the sake of policy consistency.

"There are several friends of mine who are regents, fellow pesantren families and fellow members of the Gerindra Party, asking for permission to be Hajj officers, they still can't," he said.

He added, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is committed to placing officers who can work full-time and focus on accompanying pilgrims so that the service during the hajj runs more optimally.

Previously, regional heads were recorded as Hajj officers. In the 2025 Hajj season, Gresik Regent Fandi Akhmad Yani served as a PHD who accompanied the 21 batch of pilgrims from Gresik Regency, East Java.