Police Guard 46 Prospective Hajj Pilgrims Deported For Illegality

JAKARTA - As many as 46 prospective Furoda pilgrims failed to perform the pilgrimage and were deported to Indonesia for using unofficial visas from Malaysia and Singapore. Police will assist and oversee the repatriation process.

Hajj furoda is the implementation of the pilgrimage from the direct invitation of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Or it can also be interpreted as a legal hajj program outside the Indonesian government's quota for hajj.

"(Polri is escorting the repatriation, ed) There are security officers at the Hajj Task Force," said Head of the Public Relations Division of the National Police Inspector General Dedi Prasetyo to reporters, Monday, July 4.

The involvement of the Police in the escort is because in the Hajj Task Force, the Bhayangkara Corps is one of the members. In addition, there are also representatives from the Indonesian National Army (TNI).

"Yes, that's right (the Hajj Task Force members of the Police) as well as from the TNI are also there, all to help with security and legal issues experienced by the pilgrims there," said Dedi.

It is known that 46 furoda hajj candidates were repatriated to the country because they were caught using unofficial visas. Those who failed to go on the pilgrimage claimed to have paid up to Rp. 300 million.

With these high costs, the congregation is said to be able to go for Hajj via the route without queuing for years. However, the visas they get are classified as unofficial.