Saudi Arabia Opens Quota For 1 Million Hajj Pilgrims, DPR Asks The Ministry Of Religion To Immediately Ensure Allotments For Indonesia

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives welcomes the good news from the Government of Saudi Arabia which officially announced that 1 million Muslims will participate in the Hajj. Provided that under the age of 65 years and has been vaccinated which is recognized by the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia.

This announcement is considered to have answered the certainty of the implementation of Hajj this year. "Alhamdulillah, Indonesian Muslims should be grateful for the reopening of the Hajj in 2022 after two years of not being given the opportunity to Muslims who are outside Saudi Arabia," said Deputy Chairman of Commission VIII DPR Ace Hasan Syadzily to reporters, Sunday, April 10. .

Ace said this needs to be followed up with technical implementation, especially the certainty of quota allocation for Indonesian Muslims. The chairman of the BPIH Panja asked the Ministry of Religion to immediately confirm the exact amount given to Indonesia. Because, this is related to the preparation of the budget that will be charged to each pilgrim.

"We Panja for the Cost of Organizing the Hajj (BPIH) will now immediately determine the Bipih (the fee paid by each pilgrim) based on the number of quotas," said Ace.

Ace said, the preparation of Bipih will be calculated based on the needs for airline tickets, accommodation, consumption and transportation in Saudi Arabia and domestically. As well as other necessities needed by the congregation.

In addition, said the Golkar politician, the Indonesian government must immediately register prospective pilgrims who will depart according to the requirements under the age of 65 and ensure that they have received a vaccine that is recognized by the Saudi Arabian government.

"What is very important is that the Ministry of Religion must be able to explain to prospective pilgrims over the age of 65 who should depart this year so that they are not disappointed," said Ace. lobbying the Government of Saudi Arabia so that there is relaxation about this age," continued the West Java legislator.

Ace added that the Indonesian government should try to increase the quota by lobbying the Saudi Arabian government. So that quotas from other countries that are not being utilized can be allocated for Indonesian pilgrims. "This effort is our effort to reduce the long queue of prospective pilgrims," he said.