Implementation Of The 2021 Hajj Uncertain, DPR: Weak Government Diplomacy To Saudi Arabia

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JAKARTA - Commission VIII of the House of Representatives has highlighted that the Ministry of Religion has yet to receive confirmation of the 2021 haj pilgrimage from the Saudi Arabian government.

Later, Deputy Minister of Religion Zainut Tauhid brushed aside a number of illegal issues linking the departure of Indonesian pilgrims to the Holy Land. One of them is constrained by the Sinovac vaccine which has not been certified by WHO.

Member of Commission VIII DPR RI, Bukhori Yusuf, assessed that the lack of certainty was due to the weak diplomacy role of the Indonesian government's pilgrimage towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. According to him, the government needs to look at the speculation surrounding the hajj which has emerged as a means of introspection regarding national policies that have been carried out so far.

"It needs to be admitted, we still keep a number of red notes related to the issue of human rights enforcement to democracy where this domain cannot be separated from international attention. So, it is okay if people assume that the pilgrimage polemic that occurs is an indirect form of international pressure," Bukhori said, Tuesday, May 4th.

Bukhori admits that the difficulties are not only felt by prospective pilgrims, but also the DPR RI Hajj Working Committee (Panja) team, which until today have not been able to obtain a visit visa to make direct observations and preparations in the Holy Land. In fact, this preparation is necessary to ensure the smooth implementation of the hajj during the COVID-19 pandemic if certainty has been obtained.

"Therefore, we again urge the government to be more progressive in playing its diplomatic role," said the PKS politician.

According to this member of the Panja Haji DPR, the government must be able to convince the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that the Sinovac vaccine that has been injected into the majority of Indonesian pilgrims is safe and will soon obtain certification from WHO at the end of May 2021.

As conveyed by the spokesman for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force on April 14. Until now, the number of prospective pilgrims who have received the vaccine twice is more than 50% of the total prospective pilgrims for departure in 2021.

"So, it is impossible for our prospective pilgrims to be re-vaccinated with different vaccines. Because, from a health perspective, there is no medical study whether it is safe for them," said the Central Java legislator.

Bukhori also reminded the Indonesian government to be more proficient in devising a dignified diplomatic strategy.

"So that the minimum possible, we can get certainty of Haj this year," he concluded.