Jakarta \u2013 Indonesia\u2019s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has\nstated that Saudi Arabia\u2019s additional 20,000 hajj quotas for 2024 should\nbe allocated entirely to the regular hajj programme.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese 20,000 quotas should indeed be for regular hajj quotas because\nthe reason for requesting them from the Saudi Government was that\nregular hajj applicants have been waiting for quite a long time,\u201d said\nAsep Guntur Rahayu, Deputy for Enforcement and Execution at the KPK,\nduring a press conference held in Jakarta on Friday.<\/p>\n
Asep explained that in June 2023, Saudi Arabia\u2019s Ministry of Hajj and\nUmrah announced that Indonesia had been allocated 221,000 main hajj\nquotas for 2024, plus 2,210 quotas for personnel. Subsequently, in\nOctober 2023, the Indonesian Government held discussions with the Saudi\nGovernment, during which Indonesia was granted an additional 20,000\nquotas.<\/p>\n
According to him, Saudi Arabia granted this increase because\nIndonesian hajj pilgrims had to wait for decades to travel, with some\nwaiting as long as 47 years to depart.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important to note that the reason Saudi Arabia provided these\n20,000 additional quotas to the Indonesian Government was because\nregular hajj quotas have a waiting list of up to 47 years,\u201d he\nstated.<\/p>\n
Asep made these remarks to clarify the structure of the hajj quota\ncase involving the suspect and former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut\nCholil Qoumas.<\/p>\n
The KPK announced on 9 August 2025 that it had begun investigating\nalleged corruption related to Indonesia\u2019s hajj quotas for 2023\u20132024. On\n11 August 2025, the KPK announced preliminary calculations showing state\nlosses of over Rp1 trillion and imposed travel bans on three individuals\nfor up to six months. These individuals were Yaqut, Ishfah Abidal Aziz\n(known as Gus Alex), Yaqut\u2019s staff member, and Fuad Hasan Masyhur, owner\nof the hajj travel agency Maktour.<\/p>\n
On 9 January 2026, the KPK announced that two of the three\nindividuals under travel restrictions had become suspects in the alleged\ncorruption case: Yaqut and Gus Alex.<\/p>\n
However, Yaqut filed a pre-trial motion challenging his status as a\nsuspect at the Jakarta South District Court on 10 February 2026,\nregistered under case number 19\/Pid.Pra\/2026\/PN JKT.SEL.<\/p>\n
On 19 February 2026, the KPK announced it had extended the travel ban\nonly for Yaqut and Gus Alex, whilst Fuad\u2019s restriction was not extended.\nOn 27 February 2026, the KPK announced it had received an audit from the\nState Audit Board (BPK) regarding state financial losses from the hajj\nquota case. Subsequently, on 4 March 2026, the KPK announced that state\nfinancial losses from the case totalled Rp622 billion.<\/p>\n
On 11 March 2026, the panel of judges at Jakarta South District Court\nrejected Yaqut\u2019s pre-trial motion. On 12 March 2026, the KPK detained\nYaqut at the KPK\u2019s Red and White Building State Detention Facility.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/anti-corruption-commission-additional-20-000-pilgrimage-quotas-for-2024-should-be-allocated-to-regular-hajj-1773391961", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }