Unlike In The Past, This Time Pilgrims Of Hajj Candidates Are Asked By The Ministry Of Religion Of NTB Not To Bring Rice

Head of the Regional Office (Kakanwil) of the Ministry of Religion of NTB, Zamroni Azis. (ANTARA/Nur Imansyah).

MATARAM - The Regional Office (Kanwil) of the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) appealed to pilgrims not to bring rice from home for food supplies while performing services in Saudi Arabia. "Congregants who are prospective for Hajj are not allowed to bring rice, because this year there is no more like before having to bring rice, there is no cooking, because everything is well available," said Head of the Regional Office of the NTB Ministry of Religion Zamroni Azis in Mataram, quoted from Antara, Friday, May 26. He said he had instructed all officers of the Hajj Organizing Committee (PPIH) to oversee the pilgrims of the NTB Hajj to emphasize the socialization so that the pilgrims would not bring rice from home when they went to the Holy Land. "So both in Medina and Makkah are all available. That's why we hope that people don't need to be busy carrying goods to eat because they are already available," he said. Zamroni emphasized that the central government through the Ministry of Religion had ordered catering for food and drink in Saudi Arabia with the Indonesian menu. Therefore, the pilgrims do not need to worry about food needs during the pilgrimage. He said each pilgrim is limited to carrying a maximum luggage of 20 kilograms, with details of a suitcase that enters the maximum baggage of 15 kilograms and a bag stored in the cabin weighing five kilograms. "If we return the MSME products to the congregation, they will be taken as part of our promotion in Saudi Arabia. But keep in mind, not much, because it will reduce congenital because they are limited," said Zamroni Azis. In addition to matters of luggage, he also reminded pilgrims of prospective pilgrims to pay attention to Saudi Arabia's weather conditions which are much hotter than in Indonesia. For this reason, he appealed to pilgrims not to force themselves to do activities, including when carrying out sunnah worship. The reason is, pilgrims must keep their bodies in excellent condition, the pilgrimage arrives until they return to Indonesia. "The weather information in Saudi Arabia can be up to 50 degrees Celsius now. So this is also a note for officers to be able to provide information on how to maintain the health of pilgrims. We place it properly so that all pilgrims for Hajj candidates run smoothly carrying out the pilgrimage," he said.

The Lombok embarkation consists of 12 groups. The first batch entered the Hajj dormitory on June 6 and departed on June 7 and the 12th departed June 21, 2023. While returning to Indonesia for the first batch on July 19 and the 12th batch returned on August 2, 2023.