Ministry of Finance Officially Eliminates the Mechanism for Resolving Postponed Replacement

Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak/ANTARA/HO-Kemenhaj Public Relations English: Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak/ANTARA/HO-Kemenhaj Public Relations

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah officially removed the mechanism for paying compensation for delays in the implementation of the special hajj as part of the improvement of governance to ensure that the departure process for pilgrims takes place more fairly, transparently, and entirely based on the order number of the portion.

The commitment was conveyed by Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak when attending the National Working Conference (Mukernas) of the Indonesian Special Haji Organizing Association (ASPHIRASI) in Malang City, East Java.

Wamenhaj Dahnil in a written statement in Jakarta on Saturday said the decision was taken after the Ministry conducted an evaluation and found that there was abuse of the mechanism for replacing the delay by the organizer.

"When we cleaned up the special hajj governance, we found a game related to the replacement of the postponement fee. PIHK officials deliberately used the cancellation of the departure of several pilgrims to then replace them with other pilgrims who did not match the order number or their portion number. That's where the practice of buying and selling at unreasonable prices is carried out by irresponsible individuals," said Wamenhaj as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, July 18.

He emphasized that to close the gap in the deviation, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah decided to remove the mechanism of deferred payment.

"Then we made a decision that there should be no more replacement delay payments. The replacement delay payment has been the most profitable maneuver for certain individuals. Therefore, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah ensures that we do not have this mechanism," said Wamenhaj.

According to the Minister of Religion, from now on, the departure of special pilgrims can only be carried out based on the order number of the portion that has been determined.

"Only the pilgrims can leave according to the number of their portion. This is our effort to bring justice to all pilgrims while eliminating the practice of rent and manipulation in the implementation of special hajj," he said.

The Minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs added that the improvement of the special haj governance was part of the haj reform that the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah continued to carry out to build a professional, accountable, and ethical system.

The ministry will also continue to strengthen supervision so that all processes for the implementation of special hajj run according to regulations and guarantee the rights of each congregation fairly.