Akbar leaves Jakarta on haj pilgrimage

Akbar leaves Jakarta on haj pilgrimage

JAKARTA: House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung, who
is also a suspect in a Rp 40 billion corruption case, left on a
haj pilgrimage on Thursday.

Akbar, who also chairs Golkar Party, is in the same group of
pilgrims as Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Al-Munawar,
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Affairs Jusuf Kalla,
Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah, State Minister of
Communications and Information Syamsul Mua'rif and State Minister
for Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki Sumarjoto.

The state officials flew from Soekarno-Hatta airport to Mecca
at about 8 a.m. on Thursday.

Vice President Hamzah Haz previously canceled his haj
pilgrimage until next year, saying that he could not leave the
country due to the "deteriorating domestic condition, with floods
and natural disasters". -- Antara