Ministry Of Religion Reminds Not To Use Umrah Visa For Hajj, Fines Reaches IDR 42 Million

Prospective Indonesian Hajj pilgrims boarding depart for the Holy Land. (Between)

BATAM - Batam City Regional Office of the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag), in the Riau Islands reminded local people not to use Umrah Visa to perform Hajj.

Head of the Batam City Ministry of Religion Office Zulkarnain said this was a form of follow-up to the rules issued by the Government of Saudi Arabia.

"Regarding this Hajj visa, Saudi Arabia has conveyed that this year it is really strict to enter the implementation of the Hajj. No one can use visas that are not hajj," said Zulkarnain in Batam, Tuesday, May 7, which was confiscated by Antara.

He explained, if anyone does not use Umrah Visa when carrying out the pilgrimage, they will later receive strict sanctions from the Government of Saudi Arabia in the form of criminal penalties and can be subject to fines of up to 10 thousand riyals or the equivalent of more than IDR 42 million.

"What is this for, so that the pilgrims who carry out the pilgrimage are truly the people who have the right to carry out the pilgrimage," he said.

Zulkarnain said that during the series of Hajj services, all pilgrims would be subjected to strict examinations regarding this matter.

"So later there will be firm examinations, the term will enter Arafah has been prepared barcodes. There are even such as tickets, or given a barcode bracelet, so if he doesn't have it, Saudi Arabian officers will comb it," he said.

That way, the Batam City Ministry of Religion appealed to the entire community to be aware of the use of travel or an invitation from someone who stated that they could accommodate the implementation of Hajj without clear documents.