Limited Time, Ministry Of Religion Says Additional 10,000 Hajj Quota From Saudi Arabia Cannot Be Processed

Director General of Hajj and Umrah at the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia Hilman Latief (ANTARA/HO)

JAKARTA - The Director General of Hajj and Umrah at the Ministry of Religion, Hilman Latief, said that the additional 10,000 quota for the 2022 hajj could not be followed up because the time available was no longer possible to process it.

"The last flight or closing date for the pilgrims' departure from the country is July 3, 2022. This means that there are only 5 days available per day. This is certainly not enough time to process additional quotas," said Hilman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, 29 June.

The Ministry of Religion has received official notification from Saudi Arabia regarding the additional quota on the evening of June 21, 2022. Saudi Arabia stipulates that the additional quota is only for regular hajj so that its preparation must be based on applicable regulations.

"Officially, the letter from the Ministry of Hajj has also been answered by the Ministry of Religion. They understand the conditions and systems that apply in Indonesia. They understand the provisions on portions, serial numbers and others. Based on regulations, Hajj must be carried out according to applicable rules," he said.

In the process, continued Hilman, based on existing regulations, the time available was not enough. The deadline for applying for a regular pilgrim visa is June 29, 2022.

"Even if it is withdrawn from the beginning of receiving the official letter on June 22, 2022, there will only be about 10 days. That is also certainly not enough," added Hilman.

There are a number of stages that must be carried out in the process of departing the pilgrims, since the quota was determined.

First, the Ministry of Religion must hold a working meeting with Commission VIII of the DPR to discuss the use of the additional quota and its financing. The results of the agreement with the DPR were then used as the basis for the issuance of a Presidential Decree on additional quotas.

After that, a Decree of the Minister of Religion regarding Guidelines for Repayment of Hajj for Additional Quotas must be issued.

At the same time, continued Hilman, the Ministry of Religion must verify the data of pilgrims who are entitled to leave and then be announced as pilgrims who are entitled to make payments. The next stage is the repayment period.

Along with the payment, the Ministry of Religion will manage the pilgrims' documents, ranging from passports, service packaging, and visas. However, packaging cannot be done if there is no service contract and payment with a service provider in Saudi.

Likewise with the pilgrim visa, it cannot be issued without packaging. Package input cannot be done if there is no certainty about the group and flight schedule.

"The flight schedule cannot be done before there is a flight contract and slot time. So there needs to be an adjustment to the contract," he said.

According to Hilman, the conditions for special Hajj are not much different. Special Hajj Organizers (PIHK) also have to carry out a number of stages that take a long time to complete the payment and packaging process.

"This includes the process of returning the Special Hajj Travel Expenses (Bipih) from BPKH to PIHK, managing tickets and service contracts in Saudi Arabia, as well as inputting data into E-Haj and visas," explained Hilman.

For comparison, in 2019 Indonesia also received an additional quota of 10 thousand. However, the certainty of the additional quota was obtained in April 2019. Even though the departure of the first batch was on July 5, 2019.