PIKIRAN RAKYAT - Minister of Religions Affair of the Republic of Indonesia, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, was called by President Joko Widodo to the Presidency Palace, Jakarta, on Friday, 19 July 2024. Is there any correlation with the hajj problem under the spotlight?

Recently, the hajj dispute has surfaced, following stains in implementing the 2024 hajj. The problems include accommodation and facilities for Indonesian pilgrims which are still inadequate.

More specifically, the problems are also about the inadequate capacity for the number of toilets and lodging tents. In addition, there are allegations of violations of the Presidential Decree regarding the additional hajj quota from the Saudi Arabian government.

Amid the issue of hajj supervision by the Special Committee (Pansus) of the Hajj Inquiry of the DPR, the Minister of Religion was asked to face the President. In his statement, Yaqut did not specifically target this.

"I report all the work at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, there are many tasks," said the Minister of Religious Affairs, and hurriedly walked away, after meeting President Jokowi in Jakarta.

Yaqut seemed unwilling to specifically say what his tasks that had been reported to Jokowi were. He only repeated the description that this was just a routine report.

"I report it routinely. The routine report to the President about the tasks in the Ministry of Religions Affair, all of them. I reported all my duty in the Ministry of Religions Affair to Mr. President," he said.

The Minister then was asked about Jokowi’s response regarding his report. “Alhamdulillah,” he said briefly while entering his official vehicle.

There was a journalist’s question about corruption allegations of the allocation of the additional quota of hajj in the Ministry of Religions Affair. However, the Minister already entered the car and closed its door.

Petugas Penyelenggara Ibadah Haji (PPIH) Arab Saudi menyambut kedatangan jemaah haji kelompok terbang (kloter) SUB-106 dari Embarkasi Surabaya di Bandara Internasional King Abdul Aziz, Jeddah, Selasa, 11 Juni 2024.* - Pikiran Rakyat/Eri Mulyani.

Previously, Luluk Nur Hamidah, a member of the Special Committee for Hajj Supervision Questionnaire of the DPR, revealed that they found signs of fraud in the implementation of hajj related to the transfer of regular hajj quotas to special hajj.

"There is not only the indication of law violation, but we also found the indication of corruption of the transfer of regular hajj quotas to special hajj,” said Luluk in a statement a while ago.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Hajj and Umrah Implementation of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Hilman Latief, submitted a request to the Special Committee on Hajj of the House of Representatives to provide evidence supporting the allegations addressed to the Ministry of Religion.

"Just proven it," said Hilman Latief in Jakarta, on Monday, July 15, 2024.*** (Politeknik Negeri Bandung/Sintia Yuliana)