JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) spoke out about the decision made by the former Minister of Religion (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas in the distribution of 20,000 additional Hajj quotas from the Saudi Arabian government. The public is invited to provide an assessment for the public's benefit where the decision was made.
This was conveyed by the Deputy for Enforcement and Execution of the KPK, Asep Guntur Rahayu, who referred to the discretion in distributing the 10,000 Hajj quotas for special Hajj quotas and 10,000 regular Hajj quotas which were suspected of violating the rules.
"Please, parents, also assess, if this quota distribution is considered discretionary, is it for the greater good? Is it considered, this community, this community who have been queuing for more than 20 years?" said Asep in the official podcast of the institution titled "Bincang di KPK Episode: Investigating the Alleged Corruption of the Hajj Quota" which was aired on the YouTube KPK RI, Monday, March 9.
On that occasion, Asep explained that the additional 20,000 Hajj quotas from the Saudi Arabian government should have been able to break the queue. But, the discretion actually made the distribution of additional Hajj quotas not in accordance with the law, namely 92 percent for special Hajj and 8 percent for regular Hajj.
Asep also said that discretion should be exercised to provide greater benefits.
"Let's say this, there is a ban on us entering other people's yards without permission, let alone if we damage their property, yes, breaking glass and others. But because there is a fire, and there are people who need to be helped, we don't need to ask for permission first, we just go into the yard, break the glass, for example, yes, the window glass or the glass of his house, then we help, it's discretionary," he said.
"There are indeed regulations that are violated, but for the greater good. It's discretionary," he said.
"How have they been queuing for decades to save money, maybe if they are less wealthy, yes, they can go directly defeated by a certain amount of money," said Asep.
"It must be delayed again and it is not certain that it will be in the next year," he continued.
As previously reported, the former Minister of Religion, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, had stated that the 50 percent quota for special hajj and 50 percent for regular hajj was a discretion taken by looking at the actual conditions on site.
Through his lawyer, Mellisa Anggraeni, Yaqut's camp assessed that this decision was based on the Minister of Religion Regulation (PMA) number 13 of 2021 which regulates the policy of the Minister of Religion.
"The technical calculation of capacity in Mina includes the policy of Mina zoning by Saudi Arabia which has an impact on the placement and financing of pilgrims. The MoU that has been signed by Saudi Arabia and Indonesia is dated January 8, 2025," Mellisa told reporters, Wednesday, December 17, 2025.
"This discretion is carried out for the sake of service and the safety of the congregation, not for personal or group profit," he continued.
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