Quota Is Not Clear, Minister Of Religion Must Immediately Announce The Certainty Of Hajj

Illustration (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion is asked to immediately determine policies for the departure of Hajj in 1442 H/2021 AD. This is because, as of today, Thursday, June 3, the government of Saudi Arabia has not provided a quota amount for Indonesia.

Chairman of the PAN faction of the House of Representatives, Saleh Partaonan Daulay, said that Indonesia is the country with the largest number of pilgrims in the world under normal circumstances. So it is necessary to be prepared to send prospective pilgrims to the holy land.

"Before the pandemic, our hajj pilgrims were 221,000 per year. Managing that many pilgrims are not easy. Even if they are departed this year, of course not all of them can. There must be a reduction in quota," said Saleh in a statement received by VOI, Thursday, June 3.

"Well, if there is a reduction, there will definitely be a technical problem to choose which of the pilgrims will take precedence," he continued.

The former chairman of the House of Representatives Commission VIII in charge of religion, believes the government will find it difficult to facilitate Hajj pilgrims because of the unclear quota issue.

"If it is dispatched, it will take a lot of time to prepare lodging, catering, transportation of pilgrims, preparation for wukuf and mabit, as well as other technical matters," Saleh explained.

The member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives in the health sector is worried that the remaining time is not enough to take care of these technical matters.

"If it is not possible to depart for the regular hajj this year, it will be announced immediately. That way, our prospective pilgrims will have certainty," said Saleh.

Although the congregation hopes to keep going, he continued, but with the current conditions, it is also hoped that they will be able to understand.

"The stipulation is that if you want to go for Hajj, you must ensure that everything is safe. Safe on the journey, safe when performing worship, and safe when returning home. This pandemic is very threatening. Everything is unclear and as a result, everything is not safe. Because it is not safe, should not be obliged to dispatch," said the legislator for the North Sumatra electoral district.

Even if the government intends to dispatch, according to Saleh, it is quite limited for special pilgrims. He is sure that special Hajj pilgrims can still be dispatched considering that the services and management of their needs are travel agencies that have obtained official permission from the Ministry of Religion.

"That way, they can still become Indonesian ambassadors in the implementation of the Hajj in 1442 H," said Saleh.

Minister of Religion Announces This Afternoon

Minister of Religion (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas stated that he would announce the certainty of the 2021 Hajj implementation today, Thursday, June 3.

This decision was taken after the Ministry of Religion held a closed meeting with Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives at the Parliament Complex, Wednesday, June 2. The meeting lasted about 1.5 hours.

"The House of Representatives Commission VIII together with the Ministry of Religion have discussed the implementation of worship from A to Z, we conclude that it will be officially announced tomorrow (Thursday, ed) at 1 pm at the Ministry of Religion Office," said Minister of Religion Yaqut at the Senayan Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Wednesday, 2 June.

The PKB politician asked all parties to understand the decision. This is because the Ministry of Religion and related stakeholders need to prepare everything before it is announced to the public.

"Please understand, be patient for a moment. Assobru Jamil, patient person, nice, beautiful. Tomorrow we will convey to the public, a little patience must be arranged, must be correct," said Yaqut.