After Requesting Postponement, Muhadjir Effendy Suddenly Visits KPK Building

Jakarta, VIVA – Muhadjir Effendy, the Special Advisor to the President for Hajj, made a sudden visit to the KPK’s Merah Putih Building on the afternoon of Monday, 18 May 2026. Muhadjir arrived at the KPK after previously requesting a postponement of his examination as a witness in the alleged Hajj quota corruption case. Muhadjir is being examined in his capacity as the Interim Minister of Religious Affairs in 2022.

“The individual was scheduled for other agendas, which is why he could not fulfil the summons for examination today,” said KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo to reporters on Monday, 18 May 2026.

Previously, on 9 August 2025, the KPK commenced an investigation into the alleged corruption of Indonesia’s Hajj quotas for the 2023-2024 period. On 9 January 2026, the KPK named former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas and Ishfah Abidal Aziz, also known as Gus Alex, a special staffer for Yaqut, as suspects. Meanwhile, Fuad Hasan Masyhur, the owner of the Hajj organiser Maktour, was not named a suspect, despite having been subject to a travel ban.

The KPK subsequently received the audit results from the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia (BPK RI) on 27 February 2026, which indicated that state financial losses in the case reached Rp622 billion. Following this, on 12 March 2026, the KPK detained Yaqut at the KPK Merah Putih Building detention centre, followed by the detention of Ishfah on 17 March 2026. The KPK temporarily changed Yaqut’s status to house arrest on 19 March 2026 following a request from his family, but returned him to the KPK detention centre on 24 March 2026. On 30 March 2026, the KPK named two new suspects: the Operational Director of Maktour, Ismail Adham, and the General Chairman of the Indonesian Hajj and Umrah Tour Travel Union (Kesthuri), Asrul Aziz Taba.