House of Representatives: Withdrawal Of Hajj Funds Will Not Abort The Departure Queue List

Illustration-Masjidil Haram in Mecca. (Wikimedia Commons/Prof. Mortel)

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Ace Hasan Syadzily, said the withdrawal of the deposit for the payment of hajj funds for prospective pilgrims who failed to leave this year did not invalidate their position on the waiting list for the departure queue.

As long as the registration funds are not withdrawn, said Ace, prospective pilgrims who have registered will still have a seat number.

"In principle, the public can withdraw the hajj funds, which the public must know if they have paid off the deposit, then the deposit for the payment can be withdrawn", said Ace, Tuesday, June 8.

Furthermore, Ace detailed that a prospective hajj pilgrim must pay IDR 35 million, which is divided into a registration fund of IDR 25 million and a settlement fund of IDR 10 million.

"If it is interesting that IDR 10 million is indeed allowed", explained the Golkar Party legislator.

However, he continued, prospective pilgrims will lose their status if the registration funds that have been deposited are withdrawn. That is the amount of IDR 25 million.

"But if the registration funds are also withdrawn, then it will invalidate the departure seat number. There are two types of deposits, the first is registration, the second is payment deposit funds", explained Ace.

Previously, the Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH) admitted that it was ready to return funds to prospective pilgrims who wished to withdraw their funds after the cancellation of the 2021 hajj.

"In principle, we will return the request for cancellation and disbursement, because this is the money our congregation has to serve", said Head of BPKH Anggito Abimanyu in Jakarta, Monday, June 7.

However, he warned that prospective pilgrims who withdraw their hajj funds will lose the queue for the pilgrimage.

“If it is withdrawn, it will certainly result in losing the queue, the process starts again. So there are consequences", he said.

Anggito admitted that some prospective pilgrims had withdrawn their funds, but it was still in a reasonable stage.

“There are no piles of withdrawals. 196,865 congregations paid off regular delays, then around 600 pilgrims canceled the number, the figure continued to move, so it was approximately 0.3 percent. So it is still relatively well managed”, he explained.

He appealed to prospective pilgrims to keep placing their funds in BPKH or in Islamic banks appointed by BPKH because there are benefits.

"We manage it well and the value of the benefits can also be felt by waiting pilgrims in the form of virtual accounts", he said.