The Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has revealed\nthe central role played by Ishfah Abidal Aziz (IAA), alias Gus Alex, a\nformer special assistant to ex-Religion Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas\n(YCQ), in a hajj quota corruption case. Gus Alex allegedly ordered funds\ncollected from Special Hajj Organisers (PIHK) by Religion Ministry\nofficials as fees for accelerated hajj departures without queuing to be\nreturned after learning that parliament would establish a Special\nCommittee (Pansus) for hajj 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen information circulated that parliament would establish the Hajj\nSpecial Committee around July 2024, IAA ordered the sub-directorate head\nto return the collected funds to the associations or PIHKs,\u201d said KPK\nDeputy for Enforcement and Execution Asep Guntur Rahayu during a press\nconference at KPK headquarters in South Jakarta on Thursday (12 March\n2026).<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Asep stated that the fees requested from each pilgrim by\nPIHK were partially retained. Some had already been utilised for\npurposes benefiting Yaqut as Religion Minister.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, some fee money was still being retained and used for the\npersonal interests of YCQ,\u201d Asep explained.<\/p>\n
Gus Alex Orders Religion Ministry Officials to Request Fees from\nPIHKs<\/p>\n
Asep explained that Gus Alex, as Yaqut\u2019s special assistant at the\ntime, had instructed officials at the Religion Ministry to request fees\nfrom PIHKs. This request came after Yaqut, as Religion Minister,\nallocated a larger special hajj quota than regulations permitted, drawn\nfrom additional regular hajj quotas.<\/p>\n
Asep stated that in 2023, Gus Alex instructed Rizky Fisa Abadi (RFA),\na former sub-directorate head for Licensing, Accreditation, and Special\nHajj Organisation Development at the Religion Ministry, to issue a 2023\nDirectorate General Decision regarding policy relaxation related to\naccelerating pilgrim departures so they could depart without queuing\nthrough the allocated special hajj quota.<\/p>\n
\u201cRFA subsequently determined pilgrimage quotas for 54 PIHKs, enabling\nthem to depart directly without queuing. RFA also provided special\ntreatment to certain PIHKs to fill additional special hajj quotas with\nexpedited direct departures,\u201d Asep explained.<\/p>\n
RFA, according to Asep, then instructed staff to collect acceleration\nfees from PIHKs for filling additional special hajj quotas receiving\nexpedited direct departures valued at USD 5,000 or approximately IDR\n84.4 million per pilgrim. One method of collecting these fees involved\nconverting mujamalah visa hajj pilgrims into special hajj.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on KPK investigation findings, RFA also distributed these\nacceleration fees to YCQ, IAA, and several Religion Ministry officials,\u201d\nAsep stated.<\/p>\n
In 2024, a similar scheme recurred. Gus Alex resumed communicating\nwith a Director of Hajj Services at the Directorate General of Hajj and\nUmrah to create a simulation of regular and special hajj schemes with\nadditional quotas divided equally at 50 per cent each. However, that\nyear\u2019s additional quota of 20,000 should have been divided at 98 per\ncent for regular quotas and 2 per cent for special quotas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn early January 2024, IAA summoned staff from the Directorate of\nUmrah and Special Hajj Development and the sub-directorate head for\nLicensing, Accreditation, and Special Hajj Organisation Development to\nhis office,\u201d said Asep.<\/p>\n
\u201cIAA directed them to collect acceleration fees and appointed someone\nto coordinate the fee money from associations and Special Hajj\nOrganisers. The fee value was agreed at USD 2,000 or approximately IDR\n33.8 million per pilgrim,\u201d he added.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-alex-ordered-fee-returns-when-parliament-moved-to-establish-hajj-special-committee-1773334347", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }