The discussion regarding an additional 20,000 Hajj quota between\nPresident Joko Widodo and the Saudi Arabian Government in October\n202<0xA0>23 took place spontaneously, according to former Minister\nof Youth and Sports Ario Bimo Nandito Ariotedjo, also known as Dito\nAriotedjo.<\/p>\n
According to Dito, Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas\nwas not part of the Indonesian delegation to Saudi Arabia at that time,\nso discussions related to the technical ministry were represented by\nForeign Minister Retno Marsudi.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there is no technical minister participating, it is represented\nby the Foreign Minister,\u201d Dito stated while serving as a witness in the\ntrial concerning alleged corruption regarding the Hajj quota at the\nCorruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday.<\/p>\n
When questioned by Yaqut\u2019s legal counsel regarding the reason his\nclient was not included in the Indonesian delegation at that time, Dito\nadmitted he did not know for certain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not know for sure, but during state visits, there are usually\nbilateral meetings held beforehand regarding the ministries involved in\nthe cooperation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On that basis, Dito believes that the discussion regarding the\nadditional Hajj quota was likely not planned beforehand.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, perhaps the additional quota was impromptu during the meeting,\u201d\nhe remarked.<\/p>\n
During the trial, Dito also stated that President Jokowi did not\nprovide any specific instructions regarding the distribution of the\nadditional 20,000 Hajj quota.<\/p>\n
Dito\u2019s testimony relates to the additional Hajj quota granted by the\nSaudi Arabian Government to Indonesia for the 1445 Hijri\/2024 AD Hajj\npilgrimage.<\/p>\n
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) began investigating the\nalleged corruption case related to Indonesia\u2019s Hajj quota for 2023\u20132024\non 9 August 2025.<\/p>\n
In this case, former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil\nQoumas, former Special Staff to the Minister of Religious Affairs Ishfah\nAbidal Aziz (alias Gus Alex), Maktour Operational Director Ismail Adham,\nand former General Chairman of the Indonesian Hajj and Umrah Tour Travel\nAssociation Asrul Aziz Taba have been named defendants. The four\nindividuals began their trial on 11 August 2026 and are accused of\ncausing state financial losses of up to Rp622.09 billion.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dito-suggests-discussions-on-additional-hajj-quota-with-saudi-arabia-were-impromptu-1789046227", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }