JAKARTA \u2014 Indonesia\u2019s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has\ndetained former Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas as a suspect in\na case of alleged irregularities in hajj quotas for 2023-2034 on\nThursday, 12 March 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, the KPK has detained the suspect, YCQ, for the first 20 days\nfrom 12-31 March 2026. The detention is being carried out at the KPK\u2019s\nGedung Merah Putih Detention Centre,\u201d said KPK Enforcement and Execution\nDeputy Asep Guntur Rahayu, during a press conference at Gedung Merah\nPutih, Jakarta, on Thursday.<\/p>\n
According to Asep, the case originated in June 2023, when Saudi\nArabia\u2019s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah informed Indonesia that it would\nreceive a hajj quota for the year 1445 H\/2024 M comprising 221,000\npilgrims (basic quota) and 2,210 officer quota.<\/p>\n
During that meeting, Indonesia was informed it would receive an\nadditional quota of 20,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis additional quota was necessary because of the lengthy hajj\nqueue in Indonesia, which extends to 47 years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Subsequently, in November 2023, Yaqut Cholil issued a Ministerial\nDecree (KMA) Number 1005 of 2023 regarding Indonesia\u2019s hajj quota for\n2024.<\/p>\n
Under this decree, Indonesia\u2019s 2024 hajj quota was set at 221,000\npilgrims, divided into 203,320 regular hajj quotas and 17,680 special\nhajj quotas. This remained the basic quota.<\/p>\n
Following this, in early November, a working meeting was held between\nthe Minister of Religion and Commission VIII of the Indonesian\nParliament regarding the financial accountability report for the\nimplementation of the 2023 hajj and the Minister\u2019s report on additional\nhajj quotas for Indonesia in 1445 H\/2024 M.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring this working meeting, the Minister of Religion stated that\nthe additional hajj quota for Indonesia for 2024, totalling 20,000,\nwould be divided as 92 per cent for regular hajj, making it 18,400, and\n8 per cent for special hajj, making it 1,600,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In November 2023, there was communication between the technical staff\nof the Indonesian Hajj Bureau in Jeddah and Yaqut\u2019s special assistant,\nIshfah Abidal Aziz, known as Gus Alex, that the e-hajj application had\nbeen activated and Indonesia\u2019s 2024 hajj quota of 221,000 pilgrims had\nbeen entered into e-hajj.<\/p>\n
The KPK stated that this quota remained the basic hajj quota without\nany additional quota.<\/p>\n
After receiving this information, Gus Alex conveyed that the\nadditional 20,000 quota should be divided equally or on a 50:50 basis,\nbased on orders from Yaqut.<\/p>\n
\u201cSubsequently, communications continued regarding the 50:50 division,\nincluding plans to separate the distribution of the additional 20,000\nquota from the basic 221,000 quota,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Asep stated that Gus Alex discussed and provided technical guidance\non the scheme for dividing the additional quota with Saudi Arabian\nofficials so that the decision to divide the additional quota 50:50\nwould appear not to violate the law.<\/p>\n
He added that in these communications, Gus Alex mentioned that the\nindividual had discussed the matter and received guidance from Yaqut in\nhis capacity as Minister of Religion.<\/p>\n
In November 2023, a meeting was held between the SATHU Forum,\ninitiated by SATHU Forum Steering Committee Chair Fuad Hasan Masyur, and\nYaqut.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe meeting was also attended by several officials of the\nAssociation of Travel Agencies affiliated with the SATHU Forum. The\nmeeting discussed, among other matters, the SATHU Forum\u2019s request to\nmanage the additional special hajj quota at more than 8 per cent,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In November 2023, a working committee meeting between Commission VIII\nof the Indonesian Parliament and the Ministry of Religion agreed on the\nhajj operational cost budget using a quota calculation basis of 241,000\n(which already included the additional quota), divided into 221,720 (92\nper cent) for regular hajj and 19,280 (8 per cent) for special hajj.<\/p>\n
In that meeting, the Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH)\ncommitted to covering hajj costs based on the 92 per cent and 8 per cent\ndivision scheme.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is in accordance with Article 64, paragraph 2 of Law Number 8\nof 2019 regarding the Implementation of Hajj and Umrah, which states,\n\u2018Special hajj quotas shall be set at 8 per cent of Indonesia\u2019s hajj\nquota\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-facts-of-the-hajj-quota-case-ensnaring-yaqut-orders-to-distribute-quotas-until-fees-received-1773327303", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }