Hajj Officer Dies While On Duty, Minister Of Religion Yaqut Hands Over Compensation Of BPJS Employment Rp183 Million

Photo: Doc. BPJS Employment

JAKARTA - The atmosphere of grief had enveloped the hearts of pilgrims from Banyumas Regency after news broke that one of the members of the Indonesian Hajj Guideline Team (TPIHI) batch 73 on behalf of Ahmad Ridlo died in Saudi Arabia while carrying out his duties.

The man who works as a teacher at Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 3 Banyumas and caretaker of the Darul Ulum Sirau Islamic Boarding School, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, left a wife and child who were still studying at the junior high school level.

For this disaster, the government responded quickly by providing child protection and scholarship benefits to heirs worth a total of Rp. 183 million which was handed over directly by the Minister of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia Yaqut Cholil Qoumas together with the President Director of BPJS Ketenagakerjaan Anggoro Eko Cahyo, Tuesday, August 15, 2023. Also present at the event were the Director General of Hajj and Umrah Organizers Hilman Latief and the Director of BPJS Employment Participation Zainudin.

Yaqut stated that the Ministry of Religion also felt the loss of the deceased, therefore the benefits of protection provided by BPJS Ketenagakerjaan became a symbol of respect for the deceased for all his services.

"We all realize that being an officer is not easy, especially yesterday our pilgrims were dominated by elderly pilgrims, approximately 60 thousand worshipers, so the coverage given by BPJS (Employment) will certainly be very meaningful for friends who were on duty yesterday," he said, quoted on Tuesday, August 29.

It was previously known that the deceased received a mandate from the Ministry of Religion to become an Officer for Hajj Organizers in 2023 based on the Decree of the Minister of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia Number 402 of 2023. In order to provide a sense of security and freedom of anxiety while working, the Ministry of Religion equipped 4,600 Hajj officers with social security protection from BPJS Employment consisting of Work Accident Insurance (JKK) and Death Security (JKM).

Anggoro said that this incident is expected to be able to tap the hearts of employers that there are risks faced by their workforce, including officers who have dedicated themselves to serving pilgrims in the holy land. Therefore, the protection of employment social security is something that workers must have.

"On behalf of BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, we express our deep condolences for the disaster that occurred. The benefit we provide is the right of the deceased as a participant in BPJS Ketenagakerjaan and proof that the state is present to protect its citizens. Of course, no matter how big this benefit is, it will never be able to replace the presence of the deceased in the midst of the family. But at least the deceased has left provisions for his wife and children to be able to continue their life properly and continue their education until they graduate from college," said Anggoro.

On this occasion, Anggoro also appreciated the full support of Minister of Religion Yaqut through the issuance of Decree of the Minister of Religion Number 433 of 2023 which regulates the provision of assistance to protect employment social security for teachers and education personnel (GTK) under the Ministry of Religion ecosystem.

The presence of this rule is certainly highly anticipated by various parties because in the near future teachers and education personnel at the Ministry of Religion will receive protection from BPJS Employment. The reason is that currently only 252 thousand workers in the Ministry of Religion ecosystem are already protected.

"We appreciate the commitment of the Minister of Religion to the Decree of the Minister of Religion number 402 of 2023, where all Hajj officers are protected and of course good news for teachers and education personnel with the Decree of the Minister of Religion number 433 which protects all teachers and education personnel, will later be protected by the BPJS Employment program. This is also in line with the president's instructions to jointly optimize the implementation of the employment social security program as stated in Presidential Instruction number 2 of 2021," added Anggoro.

While closing the activity, Minister of Religion Yaqut together with the President Director of Anggoro also handed over BPJS Employment membership cards to 129 Non-Employment Government Employees (PPNPN) within the Ministry of Religion.

Of course this is a good start and Anggoro also hopes that all workers in this ecosystem do not need to be wary because all work risks are diverted to the state through BPJS Ketenagakerjaan. This is in line with the campaign *Cemas Free Work* which since last year has been massively promoted by BPJS Ketenagakerjaan.

"Hopefully our joint efforts will help realize prosperity for all Indonesian workers," concluded Anggoro.

Head of the Kebayoran Baru Husaini Branch Office also expressed his condolences for the tragedy experienced by one of the members of the Indonesian Hajj Guideline Team (TPIHI) as well as appreciating the Ministry of Religion for registering non-civil servant teachers and education personnel into the BPJS Employment program.

Husaini conveyed that in addition to supporting protection for all Non-ASN employees who are in Ministries, State Institutions and Regional Governments, other forms of support are also needed in the form of issuance of regulations or regulations in support of Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 2 of 2021 concerning Optimization of the Implementation of the Employment Social Security Program (Jamsostek).