Panja Agrees On The 2024 Hajj Fee Of IDR 93.4 Million, Will Be Knocked By The DPR And The Minister Of Religion Next Monday

Photo illustration. (Doc. Pexels/Konevi)

JAKARTA - The working committee (Panja) of Commission VIII of the DPR and the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) agreed on the amount of the cost of organizing the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage (BPIH) at IDR 93.4 million per hajj pilgrim.

The agreement on this figure is planned to be knocked by the leadership of Commission VIII of the DPR with the Minister of Religion, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas on Monday, November 27, next week.

Deputy Chairman of Commission VIII DPR RI, Ace Hasan Syadzily explained that the Ministry of Religion initially proposed BPIH 2024 at IDR 105 million per hajj pilgrim. This figure is an increase of IDR 15 million from 2023, which is IDR 90,050,637.26 per regular pilgrimage.

However, Commission VIII of the DPR refused and recommended an increase in BPIH for the 2024 Hajj implementation at IDR 93,410,286.

"The decline in BPIH's proposal was made after a tough discussion in the two weeks of the BPIH Working Committee meeting," said Ace in his statement, Friday, November 24.

In addition to the total cost of Hajj, Ace continued, the DPR Commission VIII Working Committee also proposed that the payment of Hajj costs proportional to 60 percent be paid directly for by the congregation (Bipih) and 40 percent covered from the value of benefits. This is done so that prospective pilgrims can receive subsidies for paying Hajj fees more optimally.

"With this composition, each congregation is estimated to pay an average of Rp 55 - 56 million per congregation. The rest is covered from the value of the benefits of Rp 38 million," he explained.

Ace said the decline in the number of hajj costs that had been agreed upon by the Panja and the Government would soon be followed up with a decision as BPIH in 2024. He said the agreement was taken taking into account aspects of justice in the use of the value of the benefits of hajj funds managed by pilgrims.

"We continue to pay attention so that the value of the benefits of Hajj money is used by the pilgrims who should and maintain sustainability (sustainibility) for Hajj money," explained Ace.

Commission VIII of the DPR, added Ace, targets BPIH 2024 to be knocked with the Minister of Religion on Monday, November 27, 2023. This decision, he said, was faster than in previous years so that the congregation had a long time to pay off.

"This policy is expected to help ease the burden on prospective pilgrims in paying Hajj," said the legislator from the West Java II electoral district.

To further reduce the burden on prospective pilgrims, Ace said that the DPR Commission VIII Working Committee also proposed that the payment of Hajj costs could be done using a installment method. Moreover, in 2024 there will be an additional quota of candidates for Indonesian Hajj pilgrims of 20,000.

"We will encourage the policy that prospective pilgrims can make repayment installments since the BPIH was decided by the DPR RI and the Government," said Ace.

The 2024 BPIH Working Committee also asked the Ministry of Religion to maximize the use of quotas, including additional quotas to 241,000 pilgrims. Where the normal quota is only 221,000 pilgrims.

According to Ace, this additional quota is a factor in the use of the value of benefits that can be maximized for the cost of Hajj. Ace hopes that the reduction in BPIH's proposed increase will not have an impact on services for prospective pilgrims. Both in the country and when in the Holy Land.

"With the decline in BPIH's proposal, we ask the Indonesian Ministry of Religion not to reduce the quality of Hajj services which have been getting better so far," concluded Ace.