Tarmizi counters critics, says he has right facts<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher, who
\nhas come under fire for the way he is handling the haj pilgrimage
\nproblems, yesterday said he's got his facts right.<\/p>\n
Tarmizi insisted that 14,000 would-be pilgrims are making
\ntheir arrangements through unlicensed tour operators do exist and
\nthat they could fill Indonesia's haj quota, allocated by the
\ngovernment for pilgrims traveling on the officially sponsored
\nprogram.<\/p>\n
The minister met nine members of the House of Representatives
\n(DPR) at his office last night to explain about the problem. The
\nmeeting was held behind closed doors but his office later issued
\na statement highlighting the points of his explanation.<\/p>\n
There have been suggestions that 10,000 of these pilgrims will
\nbe leaving through Singapore and the rest from Indonesia. They
\nare being called green passport pilgrims because they are
\ntraveling on ordinary green passports. The government issues
\nspecial brown passports to its haj pilgrims.<\/p>\n
Tarmiz insisted that he has evidence that 144 Indonesians are
\ncurrently in Saudi jails either for overstaying or working
\nillegally or intending to perform the pilgrimage, although he did
\nnot have the precise breakdown.<\/p>\n
Saudi Ambassador Abdullah Abdulrahman Alim on Wednesday gave
\nhis word that the Saudi authorities have never, nor will ever,
\narrest any Indonesians who come to the Islamic Holy Land to
\nperform the haj pilgrimage.<\/p>\n
He also told reporters that the Saudi embassy was not aware
\nthat visas were issued to the 14,000 Indonesian pilgrims.<\/p>\n
\"I regret the remarks by Saudi Arabia Ambassador Abdullah
\nAbdurrahman Alim about the 14,000 green passport pilgrims,\"
\nTarmizi said. \"I fear that his ignorance about the 14,000
\npilgrims could be exploited by unlicensed enterprising brokers to
\norganize haj pilgrimage tours.\"<\/p>\n
The minister said he has received reports from officials in
\nMecca and Medina that some green passport holders have began
\narriving there.<\/p>\n
Given that Indonesia has been allocated a quota of 160,000 and
\nthat the pilgrims traveling on the government-sponsored program
\nhave virtually taken all of these up, the arrival of these green
\npassport pilgrims could mean that some of the official pilgrims
\nwho are arriving late might be bumped off.<\/p>\n
Their presence is also threatening the entire haj operation,
\nsaid Tarmizi, who heads the government's coordinating team.<\/p>\n
The minister has been put in the spotlight in the past few
\ndays for the way he is handling the problem, with some
\npoliticians even calling for his head.<\/p>\n
Reacting after the Saudi envoy's denials, some legislators and
\nMoslem leaders yesterday criticized Tarmizi for misleading the
\npublic and said he is blundering.<\/p>\n
Sri Bintang Pamungkas from the United Development Party (PPP),
\nLaksmiari Priyonggo from the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
\nand Ahmad Sumargono from the Jakarta Corps of Proselytizers
\ncalled for Tarmizi's resignation, justifying their demand on the
\nground that his \"mistake\" might damage the good relations which
\nIndonesia has enjoyed with Saudi Arabia for decades.<\/p>\n
\"He should apologize, or resign,\" Bintang told The Jakarta
\nPost yesterday.<\/p>\n
Tarmizi, however, was not without defense as several other
\nMoslem leaders were quick to point out that the minister's
\nhandling of \"illegal\" pilgrims was based on his intention to
\ncreate order in the officially-organized pilgrimage.<\/p>\n
Over-reaction<\/p>\n
Lukman Harun from Muhammadiyah, one of Indonesia's largest
\nMoslem organizations, said the call for Tarmizi's resignation was
\ngroundless and an over-reaction. Hussein Umar from the Indonesian
\nCouncil for Islamic Propagation (DDII) said that although
\nTarmizi's handling of the pilgrims was deplorable, the demands
\nfor his head is still inappropriate.<\/p>\n
\"Those legislators should come up with solutions to the
\nproblem, instead of making arbitrary demands,\" Lukman said. \"They
\nshould have held a meeting with Tarmizi first, before making
\ndemands about something which I'm afraid they know little of.\"<\/p>\n
Tarmizi's critics were more concerned at his suggestion that
\nonly brown passport pilgrims could perform the haj pilgrimage.<\/p>\n
Laksmiari said Tarmizi's plan to check the flow of \"illegal\"
\npilgrims was a violation of a Koranic law which forbids people
\nfrom banning Moslems from entering the sanctuaries of Allah.<\/p>\n
\"If Tarmizi is incapable of handling haj operations, he should
\nresign,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Despite the polarized opinions, however, both Tarmizi's
\ncritics and defenders agreed that chronic problems beset the
\ngovernment's pilgrimage tours every year.<\/p>\n
High cost<\/p>\n
One of the leading problems is the high cost of the officially
\norganized pilgrimage.<\/p>\n
Those who choose to go to Mecca with green passports do so
\nbecause the trip costs them around Rp 3.5 to Rp 4 million
\ncompared to the officially organized tour which costs Rp 6.9
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
A source at a private agency which sends green passport
\npilgrims told the Post that even at the considerably lower price
\nthe company nets a profit of some Rp 1 million from every
\npilgrim.<\/p>\n
Bintang blamed complicated procedures and poor service as the
\ncause for many people to choose \"illegal\" trips.<\/p>\n
Lukman Harun, Sumargono and Hussein Umar called on the
\ngovernment to immediately take corrective measures, including
\nestablishing a bilateral agreement on the sending of haj
\npilgrims, and the kinds of passports and visas needed for the
\ntrip.<\/p>\n
All of the observers also agreed that the government should
\nlearn from the incident and improve its service. (swe\/par\/emb)<\/p>",
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