Death of legislator in Saudi Arabia probed

JAKARTA (JP): Garuda Indonesia has offered to fly four children of a legislator and his wife who died while on the haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia to pay their last respects to the couple.

The national flag carrier has set up a team to investigate the deaths of Koensholehoedin, aged 67, and his wife Masruroh, 66, the airline's vice president for business relations, Arif Hartanto, said yesterday.

Koensholehoedin, of the United Development Party (PPP) faction, was invited by Garuda to perform the haj pilgrimage and oversee the massive operation to fly the nearly 200,000 Indonesian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia and back.

Last week PPP senior legislator Hamzah Haz requested a full written report by Garuda on the circumstances of their deaths.

Nurul Fauzah, one of the legislator's daughters, said yesterday the family had not been informed of the cause of the deaths.

An airline official simply told her that her parents had been buried in two different blocks at the Muaseim cemetery in Mina near Mecca.

Nurul said she last heard from her parents on April 19. Ten days later they received the news of the deaths from other pilgrims. Both bodies were found at a Mina hospital, she added.

The couple were survived by five sons and three daughters.

Nurul said four of her brothers were now preparing to go to Saudi Arabia.

"Garuda will cover all the expenses, including the accommodation and return tickets," she said, adding that the four planned to perform umroh, a mini-version of the pilgrimage conducted outside the haj season.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs announced yesterday that 21 more Indonesian pilgrims had died in Saudi Arabia bringing the total death toll to 698. Last year 570 of nearly 200,000 pilgrims died in the Holy Land. (11)