Amphuri Hopes Saudi Arabia Removes Suspended Status For Indonesian Congregants

ILLUSTRATION/UNSPLASH

JAKARTA - The Muslim Association of Hajj and Umrah Organizers (Amphuri) hopes that the Government of Saudi Arabia will remove the Suspend (suspension) status for pilgrims from Indonesia, so that they can fly directly to the Holy Land without having to undergo a series of departure conditions.

"Until now, the condition of Indonesian pilgrims has not been able to perform Umrah because we are still having problems with suspension. The suspension status has been applied to Indonesia since February 3, 2021 until today," said Amphuri Chairperson Firman M. Nur, quoted by Antara, Monday, August 9.

Previously, the Saudi Arabian authorities announced that registration for pilgrims wishing to perform Umrah from abroad would be opened and two million applications would be received every month.

Turkey's Anadolu News Agency quoted Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Abdulfattah bin Sulaiman Mashat as saying his ministry had coordinated with other relevant authorities before the start of the 2021/2022 Umrah season, to develop an executive mechanism and create a safe and accessible environment for Umrah pilgrims throughout their journey.

Firman welcomes Saudi Arabia's steps to open the door and start not limiting Umrah travel during the pandemic. However, the problem for Indonesia is the suspension status is still in effect, so it cannot travel directly to the Holy Land.

He hopes that President Joko Widodo and other line ministries will intervene in lobbying so that Indonesia can get relief and regardless of this status, especially since Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have historically been close.

"We hope that the relevant ministries will ensure that the suspended status can be removed from Indonesia and that Indonesia can send pilgrims," he said.

Previously, at the end of July, the government of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia said that nine countries could not make direct flights, namely India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Lebanon.

Umrah pilgrims from nine countries must transit in a third country outside the nine countries to quarantine for 14 days, before flying to Saudi Arabia.

In addition to the age requirement of 18 years and over, Saudi Arabia requires that Umrah pilgrims have been fully vaccinated with one of these four vaccines: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson.

However, for Umrah pilgrims who are vaccinated with vaccines made in China such as Sinovac or Sinopharm, Saudi Arabia is still allowed to leave on condition that the pilgrims are vaccinated with one of the above vaccines.