Disappointed That AMPHURI Violated The Umrah Departure Agreement, Ministry Of Religion Admonished And Prepared Sanctions

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JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) confirmed that it had given a strong warning to the Muslim Association of Hajj and Umrah Organizers of the Republic of Indonesia (AMPHURI) which was deemed to have violated the agreement because it dispatched 84 leaders of Umrah Travel Organizers (PPIU) on December 30-31.

The reason is, on December 23 it was approved that 25 advance teams from AMPHURI left for Saudi Arabia. However, it turned out that at the end of 2021, those who were dispatched exceeded the agreement. Even though there was a delay in departure until January 2.

"We, the government and associations have met many times, in December also the meeting agreed on the inaugural Umrah on December 23, 2021. We even prepared the plane for Saudia Airlines, but suddenly on December 16 the president issued a directive to postpone overseas travel first. Finally, the minister also directed that it be postponed. We will use this direction from the president and Gus minister as material for a meeting with the association," said Director of Hajj Umrah, Director General of Hajj and Umrah Organizers at the Ministry of Religion, Nur Arifin when contacted by VOI, Wednesday, January 5.

At the meeting, continued Nur Arifin, associations including AMPHURI also agreed that they could accept the president's direction and the direction of the minister of religion. Finally, the departure of the first Umrah from Indonesia was postponed until January.

"The plan is until January 2, but the associations suggested that an advance team or association representative be sent to study the Umrah system in this pandemic era. Finally we conveyed the proposal with Gus Minister, accepted and agreed to 25 people. Finally we sent 25 people to depart on December 23 according to the concept and conditions of the Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory in Jakarta," he explained.

"There was no policy or agreement outside of that, suddenly AMPHURI dispatched the congregation on 30-31 (December), finally the atmosphere was noisy, the other associations were busy 'How can AMPHURI take action, don't violate it, no action', continued Nur Arifin.

The government, said Nur Arifin, in this case the Ministry of Religion must cool the atmosphere so that it is not noisy. "Finally, we (Kemenag) issued a warning letter to AMPHURI whose direction was let's build a strong Indonesian Umrah team, don't walk alone," he explained.

"We have agreed that we postpone Umrah until January. In essence, we express our disappointment because we have damaged the team solidity agreement that we made," added Nur Arifin.

So, what are the sanctions against AMPHURI?

Nur Arifin explained that regarding the violation of this agreement, the Ministry of Religion would first send a warning letter and summon the association.

"We have an administrative, civil law approach. Criminal matters are not our domain (that's) in the police. We certainly have steps, for example we will summon the Umrah organizers involved in AMPHURI who have the authority to impose sanctions up to the heaviest suspension of permits for example," explained Nur Arifin.

"But we're not talking about the hardest. We'll see the existing process first, we want to be here to provide the best solution for the community. We want to provide the best and fair solution so that we can make Indonesia's Umrah better, safer," he said.

Previously, it was reported that AMPHURI dispatched 84 PPIU leaders who were members of the association. AMPHURI claimed to have coordinated with the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah Organization of the Ministry of Religion and the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) in Jeddah to conduct a trial for the first Umrah.

"The departure for the first Umrah led by PPIU members of AMPHURI, totaling 84 people, has coordinated with the Ministry of Religion (Directorate General) for Hajj and Umrah Organization and the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) in Jeddah," AMPHURI said in a statement.