61 Candidates For Hajj Parepare Departed For The Holy Land On June 17, Mayor Leaves Message To Be An Example

Mayor of Parepare, Taufan Pawe, releases pilgrims from Parepare City to Hajj Dormitory in Makassar City, South Sulawesi (Via ANTARA)

JAKARTA - A total of 61 hajj candidates from Parepare City, South Sulawesi, are scheduled to depart for the Holy Land from the Makassar Embarkation on Friday, June 17, 2022.

The pilgrims from Parepare joined the first flight group for the Makassar Embarkation, which also included 209 pilgrims from Makassar City and 119 pilgrims from Soppeng Regency.

At the ceremony for the release of prospective pilgrims to the Makassar City Hajj Dormitory, Thursday, June 16, the Mayor of Parepare, Taufan Pawe, emphasized the importance of pilgrims understanding the rituals of Hajj.

"His name is the pillars of Hajj, if he is left behind, his Hajj will not be complete. But if he does not fulfill the obligatory Hajj, there is a way out, namely paying dams or fidyah (fines). This is an example," he said as quoted by Antara.

He also asked the pilgrims from the City of Parepare to carry out their roles as ambassadors for the City of Parepare and ambassadors for South Sulawesi during the pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

"We hope that this first batch can be a good role model for future pilgrims," he said.

"Hopefully it will be a mabrur pilgrimage and benefit the family, society, nation and religion," he added.

Head of the Makassar Embarkation Hajj Organizing Committee (PPIH) Khaeroni said that 393 Hajj candidates in the Makassar Embarkation's first flying group (kloter) had undergone vaccination and were declared free of COVID-19 according to the results of the examination.

According to him, the congregation in the first batch of Makassar Embarkation will depart from Makassar Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport to Medina, Saudi Arabia, on June 17, 2022 at 00.30 WITA using a Garuda Indonesia aircraft with flight number GA 1101.

The Head of the Regional Office of the South Sulawesi Ministry of Religion appealed to pilgrims to maintain their health so that they could carry out the pilgrimage properly and return to the country safe and sound.