JAKARTA - The Yogyakarta City Ministry of Religion Office estimates that the hajj quota for departure in 2023 could increase more than double compared to the previous year's quota in line with this year's increase in the national hajj quota.
"Indeed, there is no official information regarding the quota that will be received by the City of Yogyakarta. But hopefully it can increase significantly compared to last year," said Head of the Hajj and Umrah Section of the Yogyakarta City Ministry of Religion Office Muhammad Tahrir as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, January 14.
According to him, the distribution of quotas for pilgrims for the city of Yogyakarta will wait for the certainty of the quota for DIY first and then share it for other cities and four regencies in the province.
During the 2022 Hajj pilgrimage, Yogyakarta City received a quota of 156 people from the 2020 postponement list of 318 people and it is hoped that this year it can increase to 410 people who are dispatched to the holy land.
The pilgrims departing this year will be prioritized for pilgrims whose departure was delayed last year due to the quota restriction policy.
"In organizing this year's Hajj, there is no longer a policy of limiting the maximum age of 65 years as it was in effect last year," he said.
The Yogyakarta City Ministry of Religion Office also provides a one percent reserve quota for the elderly.
"Currently, we have recorded prospective pilgrims who have passports and are applying for passports to confirm the completeness of the Hajj travel documents," he said.
As for the provisions for making Hajj visas, one of the requirements needed is complete COVID-19 vaccination. "For other technical provisions, we are still waiting for instructions from the center," he said.
Based on data from the Ministry of Religion, the total quota for Indonesian Hajj this year is 221,000 Muslims consisting of 203,320 regular hajj pilgrims plus 17,680 special hajj pilgrims, and 4,200 for Hajj officers.
The amount of this year's hajj quota has also increased compared to the total quota for the previous year's 100,051 pilgrims. The Ministry of Religion is also still hoping to get an additional hajj quota this year.
As for the city of Yogyakarta, there will be three hajj officers who will also depart to accompany the congregation during worship.
"Hopefully, there will still be additional quotas ahead of this year's pilgrimage departure," he said.
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