His Name Is Muhammad Said, An Honorary Teacher In Bengkalis Who Saved IDR 10,000 For 21 Years To Go On A Pilgrimage

BENGKALIS - His name is Muhammad Said Siregar, an honorary teacher from Bengkalis Regency, Riau Province. For more than 21 years he has been saving money to be able to perform the pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

While waiting for the flight to take him to the Holy Land at Hang Nadim International Airport, Batam City, Said said that he started saving for Hajj since becoming an honorary teacher in 1990 and was able to register for Hajj in 2011.

"The dream from elementary school is that I really want to go on a pilgrimage. With my achievements as a teacher in 1990, that was with an honorarium of Rp. 25,000 in installments, of which Rp. 10,000 was saved, Rp. 32 years as an honorary teacher.

"I was certified in 2019, so the certification money was set aside little by little (also for Hajj savings)," he added.

Apart from being a sociology teacher at the Bengkalis Islamic Education Boarding School Foundation, Said also trades clothes and sets aside a portion of the trade proceeds for Hajj savings.

He had to manage his expenses strictly in order to be able to set aside a portion of the income for Hajj savings.

"I will continue to record it well, starting from the date I recorded (expenditures), and so on until 2011, until I made money for the Hajj list, alhamdulillah," said Said.

"Sadly, because of the low salary then it must be divided, which one is for our personal needs, which is for parents, which is for savings," he said.

Said also registered his wife for Hajj. However, his wife died of cancer in 2018.

"I myself went for hajj. My wife also registered for hajj in 2011 in November, when the wedding date was immediately listed two names. But my wife died in 2018, early January, due to cancer," he said.

"It can't be replaced because at that time there was no regulation on heirs to the pilgrimage from the government," he added.

Said departed for the Holy Land with a flying group of 8 Hang Nadim Embarkation Batam.

He has prepared the provisions needed to carry out the pilgrimage in the Holy Land, including vitamin supplements to increase body resistance.

"If we look at the information from the media, the heat is 46 to 48 degrees, so our hope for this congregation is that there must be a trick to carry out worship. Don't let us drop there," he said.

"I also brought a supply of vitamins, there were medicines given by the medical staff, and there was also an addition from myself," he added.