Ministry Of Religion: The Amount Of The Regular And Special Hajj Quota To Be Determined By Saudi Arabia

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion emphasized that the amount of the regular and special hajj quota for the implementation of the 1443 Hijri hajj had been determined from the start by the Saudi Arabian government and not through an MoU, as in previous years.

"The provision of hajj quotas in 1443 H/2022 AD was not carried out as in previous years, namely through the signing of the MoU between the two countries represented by the Minister of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia and the Minister of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia. However, the quota was given directly by the Government of Saudi Arabia through e-mail. -Haj," said Director General of Hajj and Umrah Organizers at the Ministry of Religion Hilman Latief in a written statement quoted by Antara, Wednesday, May 4.

Hilman said the determination of this year's hajj quota is mandatory from the Ministry of Hajj of Saudi Arabia. Thus, there is no room for negotiation in determining the quota because there is no discussion of the MoU between the ministers.

According to him, the distribution of regular and special hajj quotas is carried out following the allocation set by the Saudi Arabian government. Systemically, through e-Haj, the Government of Saudi Arabia divides 92,825 for Indonesian regular pilgrims and 7,226 for special Hajj.

The determination of the Hajj quota by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the pandemic, he said, was only published in mid-April. In time, information regarding the certainty of the hajj quota is limited, because usually the discussion of the MoU has been carried out since December of the previous year.

Hilman assessed that the determination by Saudi Arabia was based on data on the percentage of Indonesian pilgrims the previous year which was not exactly eight percent.

The pilgrim quota set by Saudi Arabia this year is also less than the quota assumption discussed with the Ministry of Religion and the DPR when discussing the Cost of Organizing the Hajj (BPIH) in mid-April.

"But we are still grateful, this year there are Indonesian pilgrims who can go to the Holy Land for the pilgrimage," said Hilman.

The Ministry of Religion is currently focusing on preparing services for Indonesian pilgrims at home and abroad. Communication and coordination with partners abroad continues, while finalizing the preparation of services for Indonesian congregations.

"Hopefully conditions will return to normal soon so that next year the hajj quota will also return to normal, both regular and special hajj," he said.