A Total Of 177 Prospective Acehnese Hajj Pilgrims Have Not Paid Bipih

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

BANDA ACEH - The Regional Office of the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) Aceh Province said that as many as 177 out of a total of 4,378 Hajj candidates (Calhaj) Aceh had not paid the Hajj Travel Fee (Bipih) 1444 Hijri/2023 AD, so the Ministry of Religion extended the payment time.

"There are still 177 people who have not paid Bipih. The Ministry of Religion has again extended the opportunity for Indonesian pilgrims to pay off Bipih until May 19, 2023," said the Head of the Hajj and Umrah Service (PHU) Regional Office of the Ministry of Religion Aceh, Wednesday.

He explained that so far there have been no technical problems from banks in paying Bipih by the calhaj pilgrims. However, some of the congregation are slowly paying Bipih because they are waiting for a companion to make payments.

In fact, said Arijal, this year the companion system was abolished, so that there would be no merger between parents and their children or wives if they registered for Hajj not at the same time, or one of them did not enter the departure portion this year.

"Likewise, there is no policy for assistance for those who are prioritized for the elderly," he said.

This requires the pilgrims to pay Bipih independently without having to have a companion.

This, continued Arijal, based on the Decree of the Director General of Hajj and Umrah Implementation Number 157 of 2023 concerning Technical Guidelines for the implementation of confirmation and payment of the payment of Regular Bipih in 1444 Hijri.

On the other hand, the Head of the Regional Office of the Aceh Provincial Ministry of Religion, Azhari, invited the head of the district/city Ministry of Religion to maximize congregational services, especially this year, to focus on serving the elderly.

"We have succeeded in this year's Hajj mission, with the Tagline Haji Friendly for the elderly, hopefully what we are doing will become a charity of worship," said Azhari.

He also hopes that the Ministry of Religion can coordinate well with the local district government.

"Sejak manasik, hingga keberangkatan di embarkasi kita imbau semua pihak terlibat dan partisipasi aktif. Semua demi suksesnya pelaksanaan haji dan jemaah merasa puas dengan layanan kita," ujarnya.

For Aceh, he said, all of them consisted of 12 flying groups (clusters) and 11 full groups, while one group interfered with the congregation from the Medan Embarkation, with a total of 4,378 candidates from Aceh.

"My appeal is to maintain health, follow rituals to independence. Strengthen the intention from the beginning to worship in the Holy Land and carry out the entire Hajj pillars perfectly," he said.