Commission VIII Of The House Of Representatives To Invite The Ministry Of Health And The Ministry Of Transportation To Discuss Hajj Fees Proposed By The Ministry Of Religion

Illustration/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - Commission VIII of the DPR will invite a number of ministries to jointly discuss the Hajj Travel Costs (BPIH) in 1443H/2022M. Previously, the Ministry of Religion proposed a new tariff for hajj trips of around Rp. 42 million.

"We will invite the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transportation as well as the airlines to explore the possibility of the costs needed, whether there is a decrease again or vice versa," said Deputy Chairman of Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives Ace Hasan Syadzily in Jakarta, Thursday, March 17.

According to Ace, the necessary costs need to be ascertained because the component of flight costs is a large component of the cost of hajj. Moreover, world oil prices have increased.

"Currently world oil prices are also experiencing an increase, will this increase have an impact on the cost of hajj flights?" said Ace.

Ace also said that the House of Representatives' Working Committee (Panja) for the Cost of Hajj Organization (BPIH) will depart for Saudi Arabia on March 23, 2022. Panja's departure to the Holy Land is to prepare for the implementation of the pilgrimage this year. "We are planning to go to Saudi Arabia. If in our schedule for March 23, the Panja can depart to ensure the implementation of the pilgrimage with the preparations that have been determined," he said.

He hopes that the BPIH or the costs borne by the congregation can be lower than the government's proposal of IDR 42 million. This, said Ace, needs to be confirmed by looking at the objective conditions for the need for this year's Hajj and financial sustainability. "It is necessary to adjust the costs of organizing Hajj in 2022 with the Saudi Arabian Government's policy of not implementing quarantine and PCR obligations for prospective Hajj pilgrims," he said.

Ace said that his party has also targeted that this year's BPIH decision can be taken immediately during the trial period IV for the 2021-2022 Session Year. As for the details of the date on April 11, "We are targeting that in accordance with the internal meeting of the Commission VIII Panja this has agreed on the BPIH on April 11, 2022. So we hope that there will be certainty from the organizers of the pilgrimage," he concluded. Umrah (PHU) Ministry of Religion Hilman Latief proposed a new tariff for Hajj Travel Costs (Bipih) in 1443H/2022M to decrease to Rp. 42 million from Rp. 45 million. per congregation is Rp. 69 million for 2020, so for 2022 it is around Rp. 83 million. And for BPIH the congregation is paid Rp. 45 million to Rp. 42 million," Hilman Latief said in a working meeting with Commission VIII DPR, Wednesday, March 16. Hilman said the Ministry of Religion had not yet received certainty about the number of hajj quotas for Indonesian citizens from the government of Saudi Arabia. Even so, he said that his party was optimistic that Indonesian citizens would get a quota for hajj this year, although the number was limited. "It is not required to use masks in open conditions, PCR test results are not required, quarantine is not required," he said.