KPK Finds Out Demand For Money To Get Additional Hajj Quota From 5 Travel Agents

KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo (Tsa Tsia/VOI)

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is investigating the request for money to get a special hajj quota from the additional 20,000 rations provided by the Saudi Arabian government.

KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo said the investigation was carried out by examining five travel agents or travel agents for Hajj organizers on Tuesday, September 22. They were examined as witnesses at the East Java Police office.

"All witnesses were present and examined regarding how to obtain special Hajj quotas and requests for money to get an additional quota for special Hajj," Budi said in a written statement quoted on Wednesday, September 23.

The travel agents examined as witnesses were the President Director of PT My Brother, Muhammad Rasyid; Hajj Operations Section of PT Menara Suci Sejahtera, RBM Ali Jaelani; Director of PT Al-Andulus Nusantara Travel, Siti Roofiah Zalfaaa; Director of PT Andromeda Atria Wisata, Zainal Abidin; and Director of PT. Dzikra Az Zumar Wisata, Affif.

The anti-corruption commission will marathonly examine the travel agent this week. Investigators are investigating the process of getting quotas from 20,000 additional rations to buying and selling quotas between fellow travel agents.

"This is important to explore how the practices in the field are carried out by Hajj travel agencies," said KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo to reporters at the KPK's Merah Putih building, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta, Tuesday, September 23.

Previously reported, the KPK said that allegations of corruption related to quotas and the implementation of Hajj in 2023-2024 at the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) would enter a new chapter. In the near future, the suspects will be announced because the process is running using a general investigation warrant (sprindik).

The general Sprindik uses Article 2 Paragraph 1 and/or Article 3 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended by Law Number 20 of 2021 in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. This means that there are state losses that occur due to this corrupt practice.

State losses in the corruption case of quota and Hajj for the period 2023-2024 are said to have reached more than IDR 1 trillion. This amount is still increasing because it is only the initial calculation of the KPK which continues to coordinate with the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).

This case stems from the provision of 20,000 additional Hajj quotas from the Saudi Arabian government for Indonesia to reduce queues for pilgrims. However, the distribution turned out to be problematic because it was divided equally, namely 50 percent for regular Hajj and 50 percent for special Hajj based on the Decree (SK) of the Minister of Religion signed by Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.

In fact, based on the law, the distribution should be 92 percent for regular Hajj and 8 percent for special Hajj.

Later, the distribution of problems was allegedly due to money from the Hajj and Umrah travel parties as well as the associations that oversee the Ministry of Religion. After getting the allotment, they sold the additional quota to prospective pilgrims.