Prabowo Forms Hajj And Umrah Agency, Afriansyah Noor To Dahnil Anzar As Deputy Head Of The Agency

Afriansyah Noor. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Afriansyah Noor, who currently serves as Deputy Minister of Manpower (Wamenaker), admitted that he was assigned by the elected president Prabowo Subianto to take care of Hajj and Umrah.

He said that in the Prabowo Subianto government, there would be a new agency equivalent to a ministry that specializes in handling Hajj and Umrah.

Afriansyah admitted that he would be part of the Hajj and Umrah affairs agency as deputy head of the agency.

The assignment was based on direct directions when meeting with Prabowo Subianto.

For your information, the Hajj and Umrah services have been under the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah (Dirjen PHU) of the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag).

"Mr. Prabowo's direction to me, to the three of us, is to take care of the affairs of the Hajj and Umrah affairs agency. The ministry-level agency he made is for acceleration, improvement," he told reporters, in Jakarta, Friday, October 18.

Afriansyah said that later this new agency would be led by the head of the agency with two deputy heads of agencies.

Apart from himself, the position of deputy head of the Hajj and Umrah affairs agency will also be occupied by Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak.

Dahnil is the spokesman for the Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto, as well as himself is also a Gerindra Party politician.

Afriansyah said that the position of the head of the Hajj and Umrah affairs agency would be occupied by Gus Irfan Yusuf, who is the Deputy Chairperson of the Gerindra Party DPP, as well as the grandson of the founder of Nahdatul Ulama (NU), Kiai Hasyim Asy'ari.

"So Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak as Deputy Head of the Agency, and I am also Deputy Head of the Agency," he said.

Afriansyah said that the establishment of an equivalent Umrah and Hajj affairs agency for ministries is needed.

Moreover, he said, the majority of Indonesia's population is Muslim, so it is hoped that it can accelerate the process of managing Umrah and salaries.

"Because we are a large nation with a large number of Muslims. So the improvement of the Hajj system will be carried out immediately. I was immediately ordered to go there (the Umrah and Hajj affairs agency)," he said.