House questions new haj program<\/p>\n
Dewi Santoso
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The accountability of Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agiel Al
\nMunawar's planned haj savings program was questioned during a
\nHouse commission on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Beginning in 2005, the government will require those who wish
\nto go on the pilgrimage to deposit money at designated banks
\nevery month until their savings reach Rp 20 million (US$2,298).
\nThe designated banks include Bank Mandiri, Bank Muamalat and Bank
\nBNI.<\/p>\n
Said said the pilgrims would not earn interest on their
\naccounts. The savings would remain in the banks until the
\npilgrims left for Mecca, he said.<\/p>\n
A member of the House's Commission VI for the people's
\nwelfare, Syahrul Azmir Matondang, questioned whether the policy
\nwould lead to corruption as it was not clear what would happen to
\nthe money after it was deposited. Any interest the banks or
\nreligious ministry earned on the money should also be considered
\nharam (forbidden by Islamic law), he said.<\/p>\n
\"What will happen to the interest on the accounts, then? Will
\nit go into the ministry's account? If that is so, then what is
\nthe compensation for those who save the money?\" Syahrul said.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Consumers Institution executive director Zaim Saidi
\nsaid a policy requiring people to deposit money in banks in order
\nto go on the haj was detrimental to them.<\/p>\n
\"It's a dilemma for them because on one hand, they are morally
\nrequired to deposit money for their haj pilgrimage. On the other
\nhand, they can receive no interest because it is considered
\nharam,\" said Zaim.<\/p>\n
\"Can anybody say where this interest would go? No, because
\nthere are no clear systems to really define or trace it, and
\nthat's what makes this policy unfair,\" Zaim told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
The only beneficiaries of the policy were the account holder
\n-- the religious ministry -- and the banks, he said.<\/p>\n
\"It's clear the Ministry of Religious Affairs has the power to
\ndo anything it wants with the money -- or interest. It would be
\nvery easy for the ministry to misuse it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A total of 205,000 pilgrims a year are officially allowed to
\nvisit Saudi Arabia for the haj under a bilateral quota system.
\nThe quota for next year has already been filled. For 2006, 3,122
\npeople have been registered with the ministry for the haj trip.<\/p>\n
At about Rp 24 million ($2,775) per pilgrim, the country has
\naround Rp 5 trillion per annum in haj savings, earning billions
\nof rupiah in interest.<\/p>\n
Zaim suggested that the pilgrims be required to save gold
\ndinars that could be changed into rupiah to finance their trip.<\/p>\n
\"One gold dinar has an international standard of 4.5 grams of
\n22 carat gold. And as far as I can recall, the price of gold has
\nnever decreased. This system will benefit Muslims,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Malaysia has had a similar program running since last year, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"The problem is that no banks will be willing to apply this
\nsystem. Therefore, the government should encourage the
\nestablishment of a new private institution that will operate the
\nprogram,\" Zaim said.<\/p>\n
The next haj begins in January.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/house-questions-new-haj-program-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }