PPIH Asks Saudi Arabia To Set Hajj Quota Early

Pilgrims performing the obligatory Umrah at the Grand Mosque, Mecca. (ANTARA photo)

JAKARTA - Saudi Arabia's Head of the 2022 Hajj Organizing Committee (PPIH) Arsad Hidayat hopes that the Saudi Arabian government can issue an earlier determination of the hajj. If the determination is early, it can be anticipated.

"We have also conveyed to the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia if the quota in 2023 returns to normal in order to prepare an MoU which includes setting the quota from the beginning," said Arsad in Mecca, Tuesday, June 29.

He hopes that if possible, after the completion of the hajj, there will be no later than November-December an invitation to carry out the MoU so that preparations from the government and the DPR will be much better, including an additional hajj quota.

"I think that even if you want to be given an additional quota, the time must be sufficient so that it doesn't bother all parties," he said.

Deputy Chairman of Commission VIII Diah Pitaloka on the sidelines of a review of services for Indonesian pilgrims said the DPR's proposal would create a supervisory working committee (panja) but not within the framework of Hajj preparations.

"Because this is an improvement, for example, the management of hajj funds and also the quota system or restrictions, there are a lot of Saudi policies that we need to review again," Diah said.

She hopes that there will be more optimal communication because when the moment of Hajj is near, it is also associated with a limited time so sometimes you can't do much to prepare it.

"This is what we want to observe. We are afraid that next year the quota will be full, which means that the preparations must be more mature. So far, thank God, we are happy to see our pilgrims are healthy," she said regarding the hajj quota for Indonesian pilgrims.