Assisted By The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs And The Ministry Of Health, The Ministry Of Religion Hopes That The Care To Protect And Tawakalna Application Will Be Integrated Soon For The Sake Of Umrah

Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Quomas alias Gus Yaqut at the DPR (Photo: Nailin/VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of Religion (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said his party had prepared a scenario for the departure of Umrah for Indonesian pilgrims. This includes before departure, while in Saudi Arabia, and arrival in the country. This, he said, had been reported to Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives in a working meeting today, Tuesday, November 30. The Minister of Religion hopes that if the initial departure for the Umrah pilgrimage is successful, Indonesia can send more pilgrims. Thankfully, Saudi Arabia can open a quota for the implementation of Hajj next year. "I said earlier at the meeting, this is part of our simulation, it's a trial. If this works well, the health protocols that we apply are in line with what the Saudi Arabian government expects, then we hope that in the future there will be more Umrah pilgrims and Hajj will also be opened for Indonesia," said Minister of Religion Yaqut after a meeting at the DPR Building, Tuesday, November 30. Regarding the issue of 18,752 Umrah pilgrims reportedly leaving in December, the Minister of Religion hopes that all pilgrims can go to the holy land. However, Yaqut explained, not all registered pilgrims can perform Umrah if it is carried out in the near future. This is because the Ministry of Religion must regulate the technical issues of departure, the age factor, vaccinations, and the cost of Umrah during this pandemic. "We will sort out the age first, how many complete vaccines have we sorted first, not for the cost. Because there must be a special additional PCR for quarantine, what additional costs should be added, if any. If there is an excess cost, the excess cost is for whom. It must be calculated everyone, be patient," said the Minister of Religion. Mainly, related to the integration of the PeduliLindungi COVID-19 monitoring application with Saudi Arabia's Tawakalna. The Minister of Religion said that he had coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health to communicate it to the Saudi Arabian government. "The Tawakalna application is important. So Tawakalna, our PeduliLindung application, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health have done bridgeing to integrate PeduliLindungi with Tawakalna, and today is in the process of finalizing the finishing," he explained. "So yesterday we went home, the finishing team from the Ministry of Health has arrived, God willing, in the near future Tawakalna and CareLindung will be integrated so that it will be easier for us," continued the Minister of Religion. However, said the Minister of Religion, the most important thing now is that Saudi Arabia is willing to lift the ban for Indonesia to visit the holy land.

"But the most important thing is that the suspension has been lifted, which means we can hold Umrah again. Technically, how do we arrange this so that it is in accordance with health protocols, safe for pilgrims, healthy for pilgrims and comfortable for pilgrims," explained Yaqut.