Minister Of Religion Yaqut Guarantees To Keep Departing Umrah Pilgrims When Omicron Numbers Are High

Minister Yaqut in the House of Representatives on the Breaking of Umrag/Photo: Nailin In Saroh-VOI

Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Coumas stated that the government did not prohibit Indonesian citizens from traveling abroad, in this case carrying out the pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The Ministry of Religion, said Yaqut, will continue to enforce the one gate policy (OGP) to send Umrah pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

"All Umrah pilgrims must depart from the Hajj dormitory. Returning must also go through a quarantine area. Prokes must also be strict to maintain especially the safety of the comfort of the pilgrims," said Minister of Religion Yaqut at the DPR Building, Monday, January 17.

Regarding the discourse on the temporary suspension of sending congregations for evaluation, Minister of Religion Yaqut explained that this was only an appeal. He appealed to Indonesian pilgrims or citizens to postpone their departure for Umrah or to other countries for now.

However, if Indonesian citizens have obtained a visa to leave, the government may not prohibit it.

"If I may, I'm actually like this. Let's wait, after all, Umrah is not an obligatory worship. But for those who have received a congregation visa, this government cannot prohibit citizens from going abroad if they have received a visa. Unless they have legal problems, for example, , is banned, but if you already have a visa, the government has no right to prohibit it," Yaqut explained.

"But the advice is not to leave yet, because the Omicron is still high," he continued.

Therefore, he continued, the Ministry of Religion is trying to be careful to protect and facilitate pilgrims so that they can leave for Saudi Arabia safely.

"Yes, you don't go, you don't go home. That's what we think. To stay healthy, safe, worship well, and run smoothly," he said.

Even so, Minister of Religion Yaqut did not deny that there was an evaluation after the return of the Umrah pilgrims who would arrive in the country tonight.

"But comprehensively, we still ask the Director General and the entire team to wait for the return of the Umrah pilgrims tonight. About 400 pilgrims, we will see their condition, from there I feel a comprehensive evaluation can be done compared to the 25," explained Yaqut.

Previously, the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) decided to temporarily stop the departure of Umrah pilgrims to the Holy Land since Saturday, January 15. This is to evaluate the One Gate Policy (OGP) scheme and monitor the development of COVID-19 in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

"Umrah pilgrims will depart until January 15, 2022, and we are trying to temporarily stop them for evaluation," said Director General of Hajj and Umrah at the Ministry of Religion, Hilman, Monday, January 17.

The Ministry of Religion, he continued, will review the OGP scheme which requires Umrah pilgrims to perform a health screening and complete documents upon arrival at Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory.

He said, since January 8, 1,731 Umrah departures have gone through the Pondok Gede Hajj Embarkation Dormitory, Jakarta.

"We will thoroughly examine the OGP concept by looking at the developments that occur, at a time when the Omicron virus is growing in several countries, including Indonesia and Saudi Arabia," said Hilman.