Instead Of Educating The Ummah, Ustaz Abdul Somad And HNW Are Busier In Frying The Issues Of Hajj Funds

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The lecture of the famous Ustaz Abdul Somad became the attention of netizens after the government officially announced the cancellation of the pilgrimage this year.

UAS - Abdul Somad's nickname - alleges that the funds deposited by the congregation for the pilgrimage are used by the government for infrastructure development.

This snippet of the UAS lecture was shared by the Twitter account, @narkosun, Monday, June 7 yesterday. In line with UAS, the Deputy Chair of the MPR from the PKS faction, Hidayat Nur Wahid (HNW) also spoke out.

HNW requested that the Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH) explain transparently the condition of the Hajj funds. This is because, due to the cancellation of the Hajj from Indonesia, there have been accusations that the government uses the hajj funds to build infrastructure.

Social Media Activist Eko Kuntadhi responded to this statement from HNW and UAS via CokroTV's YouTube channel, Wednesday, June 9 today. Eko said that these two figures were more busy frying the issue of hajj funds than educating the people by providing a comprehensive explanation regarding the governance of hajj funds.

"In this context, in my eyes, Hidayat and Somad are only frying problems. The goal is not to educate the people about valid and correct management of hajj funds. For what reason? Because the issue of hajj as a pillar of faith is a sensitive issue for the Indonesian people, let alone those who are religiously drunk," said Eko.

According to Eko, by throwing slanted news about hajj funds, followers will immediately respond. "Especially for followers who are minimally literate. Yes, it's definitely fried up,"

"The problem with hajj funds is that now there are many politicians and preachers who firmly adhere to principles. In principle, stupid people will be very useful if they are used according to their stupidity. I think it is people like Hidayat, Somad, Haikal Hassan or Rizal Ramli who throw the crucial issue of hajj departure and this hajj fund understands this principle very well. They really want to use stupid people according to their stupidity," said Eko.

According to Eko, as a member of the DPR-MPR, Hidayat Nur Wahid should have made it much easier to carry out his supervisory function. The BPKH can be summoned and asked for responsibilities before the members of the council.

"Confirmation if there is a suspicion, you can call BPKH at any time to confirm if there is a problem. For a member of the DPR, this is normal, because the function of the DPR is as a supervisor of the running of the government," explained Eko.

Eko explained that the formation of the BPKH in 2017 was to overcome the existing hajj funding dispute. Prior to 2017, hajj funds were managed using a patchwork system. The explanation, for one pilgrimage with a regular class required funds of around Rp. 60-72 million.

Meanwhile, hajj pilgrims deposit around Rp. 30 million. So, how to cover this shortcoming? Well, the government or related parties will take Hajj funds from pilgrims who have not yet departed to cover the shortage. The presence of BKH is actually a positive step to overcome this problem.

With a strict scheme as well as regulation in the Act, the Hajj funds are then managed under a sharia system. Part of the Hajj funds will be placed in deposits and partly in Islamic securities and guaranteed by the state.

"So there can't be any losses, there are even benefits or excess money from their own investment," said Eko.