BPKH Responds to Proposed 60:40 Hajj Cost Scheme for 2027

The government is formulating a financing composition scheme for the 1448 H/2027 M Hajj Pilgrimage Costs (BPIH) where 40% is paid directly by pilgrims as the Hajj Travel Cost (Bipih), while the remaining 60% is covered through the value of benefits managed by the Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH).

Head of the BPKH Executive Board, Fadlul Imansyah, explained that the value of benefits managed by BPKH currently amounts to approximately IDR 12.05 trillion per year in 2025. Meanwhile, if 60% of the proposed average BPIH of IDR 107.34 million per pilgrim is covered using the value of benefits, the funding requirement is estimated to reach around IDR 12 trillion to IDR 13 trillion.

If the funding requirement is taken from BPKH’s net assets, which amount to approximately IDR 20 trillion, this condition would reduce net assets and trigger a deficit for the current year. "So the next question is, is this current year deficit what is desired? And it should be remembered that this IDR 181 trillion (BPKH managed funds) is the deposit funds from 5.6 million pilgrims waiting for departure," Fadlul stated during a Media Briefing at the BPKH Office in Jakarta on Monday.

Fadlul explained that so far, a portion of the value of benefits has indeed been used as a cost subsidy for departing pilgrims in accordance with decisions by the government and the House of Representatives (DPR). In the previous organisation, around IDR 6.8 trillion of the value of benefits was allocated to help finance departing pilgrims, while the remainder continued to benefit other prospective pilgrims.

According to him, in investment principle, the entire value of benefits should be the right of all Hajj fund owners. However, if more than half of the value of benefits is used to support the costs of departing pilgrims, the benefits that should be enjoyed by all prospective pilgrims are reduced. "We are not rejecting it, but is this what our pilgrims want? Because this is the pilgrims’ money, 5.6 million people. So it is not our right. If you want to ask the pilgrims, are they willing to give a subsidy to those departing from money that should be for them?" he added.

Previously, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah proposed changing the financing composition of the 1448 H/2027 M BPIH to 40% Bipih paid directly by pilgrims and 60% from the BPKH value of benefits. The reason given was so that adjustments to the cost of organising the Hajj do not add to the financial burden of pilgrims. This was conveyed by the Deputy Minister of Hajj while attending the XXIII Al Washliyah Congress held at the Class I Jakarta Hajj Dormitory.

"So, if it is IDR 107 million, it means that what is paid by the pilgrim is around IDR 42.8 million, while what is paid through the BPKH value of benefits is around IDR 64.2 million," the Deputy Minister said. With the proposed average BPIH of IDR 107.34 million per pilgrim, the government estimates pilgrims will only pay around IDR 42.8 million, while around IDR 64.2 million is met through the BPKH value of benefits. In the previous year’s Hajj organisation, the financing composition was actually around 62% from Bipih paid by pilgrims and 38% from the BPKH value of benefits.