Hajj Costs Rp49 Million, Ministry Of Religion: Determination Of Costs Don't Distinguish Congregational Age

Illustration of Hajj (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) emphasized that the preparation of the Hajj Implementation Fee (BPIH) amounting to Rp49.8 million does not differentiate the age of the congregation, whether it belongs to the youth or the elderly (elderly) category, the determination is in accordance with the agreement with the DPR RI. "The Hajj (regular) is the same as all, there is no distinction between young and old. This is also in line with the concept of istitha'ah, because Hajj is an obligation for those who can afford it," said Director General of Hajj and Umrah Implementation of the Ministry of Religion Hilman Latief quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, March 14. Hilman's affirmation dismissed the statement by law firm Haris Azhar Law Office. In his statement, Haris Azhar Law Office urged that the state exclude the charge of additional Hajj payments for pilgrims who are included in the postponed category of Hajj candidates 1443 H/2022 AD amounting to Rp9,400,000 and elderly Hajj pilgrims in 1444 H/2023 M amounting to Rp23,500,000. "All processes discussing hajj funds are also carried out openly, transparently, and accountable through a joint discussion mechanism between the government, in this case the Ministry of Religion together with Commission VIII DPR," said Hilman.

Hilman explained that the BPIH that had been designated with the DPR should not be termed as a charger. The reason is, not all BPIHs are paid in full by pilgrims for Hajj. In the work meeting which took place on February 15, 2023, the Government and Commission VIII of the DPR have agreed on the amount of BPIH 1444 H/2023 M with an average of Rp90,050,637.26 per regular Hajj. The figure consists of two components, namely the Hajj Travel Expense (Bipih) borne by the congregation with an average of Rp49,812,700,26 (55.3 percent) and the use of the benefit value per member of the congregation amounting to Rp40,237,937 (44.7 percent). With this scheme, the use of the overall use of the value of the benefits of Hajj finance reached Rp8 trillion. In addition, it was also agreed that there was also a special affirmation for the congregation to pay off the delay in 2020 so that additional value of the benefits was needed to reach Rp845 billion. "So in the composition of BPIH, the congregation actually only paid the Hajj or Bipih Travel Costs with an average of 55.3 percent. The rest, the budget was taken from the value of benefits with a mean of 44.7 percent," he said.

During this year's Hajj pilgrimage, he said, there are quite a lot of elderly pilgrims who will depart. From 203,320 regular hajj quotas, it is estimated that around 64 thousand of them are in the elderly category. "The number of elderly pilgrims is the concern of the Ministry of Religion. In fact, this year's implementation carries the tagline Land-Friendly Hajj," said Hilman.