Hajj Costs IDR 69 Million Per Jemaah, Ministry Of Religion: Maintaining The Rights Of All Indonesian Hajj Candidates

The Director General of Hajj and Umrah at the Ministry of Religion Hilman Latief (center) in Media Briefing for Hajj in Jakarta, Tuesday (24/1/2023). (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) said that the composition of the costs of the pilgrimage (Bipih) and the value of benefits must be proportional, otherwise the value of benefits managed by the Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH) will be quickly eroded.

"This is intended to keep the value of benefits that are the right of all Indonesian pilgrims, including those who are still queuing for departure, from being eroded," said Director General of Hajj and Umrah at the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag), Hilman Latief, quoted by Antara, Tuesday.

Previously, the Ministry of Religion proposed an average Bipiah of 1444 H/2023 AD of IDR 69 million. This amount is 70 percent of the proposed average Hajj Implementation Fee (BPIH) which reaches IDR 98 million.

This means that the Ministry of Religion proposes a 70:30 percent scheme for this year's Hajj costs. 70 percent means the costs that must be paid by prospective members of the Hajj pilgrims, while 30 percent is the costs paid by BPKH which are sourced from the value of the benefits of managing Hajj finance.

Meanwhile, in the implementation of the Hajj 1443 H/2022 AD, the value of benefits that must be borne by BPKH is 59 percent or around Rp. 57.91 million and Bipih is Rp. 39.89 million or 41 percent of the total BPIH of Rp. 97.79 million.

According to Hilman, Bipih's proposal this year is indeed larger in portion. Because, if the 2022 scheme is maintained, it is estimated that the value of the benefits will run out quickly in 2027. This means that prospective pilgrims who will depart in the following years will most likely have to pay 100 percent.

"In fact, they are also entitled to the value of the benefits of their initial deposit deposit which has been around for more than 10 years," he said.

Therefore, said Hilman, the Government proposed to Commission VIII of the DPR that the financing scheme be 70 percent of Bipih and 30 percent of the value of benefits, in order to maintain the sustainability of Hajj finance.

"This is the government's proposal to discuss with Commission VIII of the DPR. We are waiting for the agreement, hopefully it will produce the most ideal composition," he said.

Meanwhile, President Joko Widodo said that the cost of Hajj trips in 2023 is still under review, not final.

"The cost of Hajj is still in the process of being studied, it is not final. It is still in the process of being studied, it is still in the process of calculating," he said.