Yaqut's lawyer: Distribution of Hajj Quota 2024 to Minimize the Risk of Safety of the Community

Former Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas/DOK ANTARA

JAKARTA - The lawyer for former Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, Mellisa Anggraini, asked that the policy of sharing additional Hajj quotas in 2024 with the 50:50 scheme not be seen as a normal administrative decision.

According to Mellisa, the decision was made in a complex situation because the government had to take into account changes in Saudi Arabia's policies, the density of pilgrims in Mina and Muzdalifah, the limited flight slots, and the risk of pilgrims' safety.

"In my opinion, taking this 50:50 policy cannot be seen as other ministers in taking policies that are normal, the situation is normal," said Mellisa at a press conference in the Grand Wijaya area, Cipete, South Jakarta, Monday, August 10.

He said that the conditions for holding the 2024 Hajj were different from previous years. One of the issues of concern is the use of Mina Jadid, which in 2023 still accommodates around 27,000 pilgrims.

Mina Jadid is said to be at the very end of the Mina area. According to Mellisa, the distance that pilgrims have to walk back and forth is almost 15 kilometers.

"In 2023 we still use the name Mina Jadid zone. The congregation if they go PP (back and forth) is almost 15 kilometers," he said.

This condition is one of the considerations for no longer using Mina Jadid in 2024. As a result, tens of thousands of pilgrims who were previously stationed in the area had to be moved to other zones.

At the same time, the number of elderly pilgrims is still high. Mellisa said there were about 45,000 elderly pilgrims in 2024 so that safety aspects became one of the considerations in decision-making.

"As a result, the additional quota was decided to be 50:50. This is a problem," he said.

With the addition of the quota, the regular congregation quota increased from 203,320 to 213,320 people. However, according to Mellisa, the addition of 10,000 congregations actually made the government have to carry out mitigation that was not simple.

Additional 10,000 Pilgrims are Not Just Numbers

Mellisa said that the additional quota of 10,000 pilgrims had an impact on many technical aspects of the implementation of the hajj. Starting from the addition of clusters, embarkation, accommodation to flight time slots.

"It's just a batch for 10,000, it adds up to 25 batches," he said.

He gave an example of the problem of flight slots. According to him, the limited slots make the travel pattern of a number of pilgrims have to be changed.

The pilgrims who were supposed to fly from Indonesia to Jeddah, then return from Madinah directly to Indonesia, had to return to Jeddah first before being flown to Indonesia.

"What should be from Madinah to Indonesia, there is no time slot, back to Jeddah. Back to Jeddah, from Jeddah to Indonesia," said Mellisa.

According to him, this change then has an impact on the financing of the haj.

Mellisa also mentioned the issue of tanazul, which is a regulation that allows some pilgrims not to stay in Mina entirely due to capacity constraints.

He said that the technical problem showed that the addition of quotas could not be calculated based on the number of pilgrims who would be sent out.

"Embarkation, flight time slots, this is not like bringing pilgrims then like a bus terminal. It can't be, this is a plane," he said.

Saudi Arabia is said to have warned of the risk of overcrowding

Mellisa then referred to documents from the Saudi Arabian authorities which he said had provided an overview of the issue of congregation density.

According to Mellisa, since Indonesia has obtained a basic quota for 2024 of 221,000 pilgrims, Saudi Arabia has suggested that 10,000 to 30,000 pilgrims be licensed.

"Saudi Arabia said, for this basic quota, we recommend that Indonesia 10,000 to 30,000 pilgrims be licensed. He has not given additional quotas, he has said that they have been licensed," said Mellisa.

Therefore, according to him, the additional quota of 10,000 pilgrims in 2024 must be seen together with the issue of the capacity of the Mina area and the pattern of pilgrim service.

Mellisa also compared the death rate of pilgrims in a number of haj arrangements. He said in 2023, when there were an additional 8,000 quotas, the death rate of pilgrims reached around 800 people.

Meanwhile, in 2024, when the additional quota is doubled, Mellisa said the death toll was in the range of 400 people.

"So to make a policy for 2024, of course, to look back at the previous years of Hajj, 2020, 2021, especially 2023," he said.

Yaqut Berpegang pada Keselamatan Jemaah

Mellisa emphasized that the decisions taken by Yaqut in the implementation of the hajj are always directed towards the interests of the congregation.

According to him, this is reflected in Yaqut's directions in various meetings discussing Hajj policies.

"Whatever our policies must be oriented towards the interests of the congregation," said Mellisa, quoting Yaqut's instructions.

He also said that Yaqut had once conveyed the safety of the congregation as a moral burden because he had experienced the condition when the pilgrims were stranded.

"Because the safety of the congregation is a moral burden, because I have experienced Hajj being abandoned," said Mellisa, quoting Yaqut.

On this basis, Mellisa assessed that the Hajj quota policy was not appropriate if it was only judged from the number of quota distribution without looking at the situation and conditions when the decision was made.

Yaqut Does Not Accept the Flow of Funds

On that occasion, Mellisa also touched on the allegations directed at her client in the alleged corruption case of the haj quota.

He claimed to have read the indictment document containing the statements of hundreds of witnesses. According to him, of the 432 witnesses listed in the indictment, none mentioned that Yaqut received a flow of funds.

"Alhamdulillah we have read it, no one said that Gus Yaqut has a stream," said Mellisa.

Mellisa said that her party would test all allegations against Yaqut in court. He also questioned other parties who he said had been mentioned in relation to the case but had not been touched by law enforcement.

"Later we will convey in the courtroom all the allegations, the charges contained by the prosecutor tomorrow, of course we will test it," he said.