Komnas Haji Questions the Calculation of State Losses in the Hajj Quota Case

ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH

JAKARTA - Komnas Haji and Umrah questioned the calculation of state losses due to alleged corruption in the haj quota that ensnared former Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil. Komnas Haji and Umrah questioned the status of the haj quota, whether it was included in the state treasury or not.

"There are many questions, for example, because we don't have the documents, for example, the question of the layman is where the figure of Rp. 600 billion is, right? How do you calculate it? Yes, right?" said Chairman of the National Commission for Hajj and Umrah Mustolih Siradj to reporters, Thursday, March 5.

"Not to mention whether this quota is in the category of state finances or not, right. Moreover, for example, the finances of the hajj have their own laws. There is Law Number 34 of 2014 concerning the Finance of Hajj," he added.

Mustolih explained that the Hajj quota was a gift from the Saudi government to the Indonesian government. Where, the number can be reduced or increased every year.

Mustolih assessed that it would be very risky if the Hajj quota was considered as state finances without special rules regulating it. Because, according to him, every year there must be unused Hajj quotas.

"Second, if he is our state finances, try to quota in 2024, 2023, 2022 or whenever it is, 2025, then 2026 for example is not used, it is burned, right? If it is burned, who is to blame? It means it is detrimental to the country. Yes, right, because it is not used, right? Yes, right," said Mustolih.

Mustolih considered that the Hajj quota was the state's finances and would also threaten anyone who served as a minister of religion. Because, unused Hajj quotas are automatically lost.

"This means that every minister if his way of thinking is like that, every haj minister has the potential to be prosecuted. Isn't that the state's finances? Quota that is not used this year cannot be used for the following year. It's a waste. And it can be ensured that every year there is a surplus of quota that is not absorbed, whether it is regular or special hajj," he explained.

It is known that this matter related to the Hajj quota has become a controversy because it dragged former Menag Yaqut. He was named a suspect by the KPK because the decision regarding the allocation of the 2023-2024 Hajj quota was considered to be detrimental to state finances.

However, according to Yaqut's legal team, the state's losses in the case have not been determined by the Financial Audit Agency (BPK). Therefore, they consider the designation of Yaqut as a suspect to be invalid.

"In addition, until this Answer Letter was submitted, we did not see a real and certain calculation of losses, including the absence of a date listed in the audit results when it was carried out or indeed it had not been completed," said Yaqut's lawyer, in a trial at the South Jakarta District Court, Wednesday, March 4.