Dasco Appreciates Hajj Organisation Amid Global Geopolitical Dynamics

Tangerang (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, expressed appreciation to the government through the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for successfully organising the inaugural Hajj pilgrimage smoothly amid global geopolitical dynamics.

“We see that the organisation by the Ministry of Hajj, which was first carried out by the recently established ministry. It was already conveyed earlier that the current processes are better,” Dasco stated in Tangerang on Wednesday.

Dasco assessed that all Hajj stakeholders, particularly the government, have worked their best to prevent any unwanted or detrimental incidents for prospective Hajj pilgrims from Indonesia.

This, he said, is evident from several additions to Hajj services such as additional embarkation points, strengthening the use of fast-track services, improving catering quality with cost efficiency, and distributing Nusuk cards in Indonesia so that family groups are not separated.

According to him, this is very important to do as an effort to maximise support for the entire journey of prospective Hajj pilgrims from Indonesia who will depart to the Holy Land this year.

“Earlier, almost 60 percent of prospective Hajj pilgrims, for example, do not have to go through the government there (Saudi Arabia),” he said.

“And the visas have all been completed up to a few days ago, and I think this year’s Hajj organisation is better than the previous year,” he added.

Meanwhile, Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mochamad Irfan Yusuf stated that this momentum is not just an administrative agenda, but an event full of meaning, laden with emotion, gratitude, and hope.

Irfan said that this departure is a moment that has long been awaited by the pilgrims because many of them have had to wait for years, even decades.

“It is an honour as well as a responsibility that we bear with full sincerity,” he said.

Previously, 391 prospective Hajj pilgrims from the first batch of the Banten Embarkation were officially departed through Terminal 2F of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Soetta) in Tangerang.

These hundreds of prospective Hajj pilgrims were flown to Madinah, marked by the handover of the Red and White flag by Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Sufmi Dasco Ahmad to the Hajj Organising Officials (PPIH) of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.