Deputy Hajj Minister Warns Staff Not to Treat Pilgrims as Commodities

Deputy Hajj Minister Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak has reminded his staff that the organisation of the Hajj pilgrimage must be oriented towards serving the pilgrims, not turning them into economic commodities. “We want to stop the bad practice of treating Hajj and Umrah pilgrims as economic commodities. They must be subjects, agents of civilisational and moral transformation,” Dahnil said at the closing of the National Working Meeting on Hajj Organisation Evaluation at the Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory in Jakarta on Monday. Dahnil stated that all levels of the Ministry of Hajj, from central to regional, bear three mandates that must be carried out and accounted for. “The three mandates entrusted to us must be completed and accounted for as best as possible,” he said. The Deputy Minister stressed the importance of achieving the three success targets, or ‘trisukses’, of Hajj organisation. The first success is ritual success, ensuring that pilgrims can perform their worship from departure until returning to their homeland safely, comfortably, and solemnly. According to him, technical services such as accommodation, transportation, and support during the worship must provide a sense of security and comfort for the pilgrims. The second is the success of the Hajj economic ecosystem. Dahnil said President Prabowo has entrusted a mandate that the organisation of Hajj should also boost national economic growth. The funds that circulate annually in the organisation of Hajj and Umrah are expected to provide greater benefits for the Indonesian people. However, he stressed that strengthening the Hajj economic ecosystem must not be interpreted as turning pilgrims into objects or economic commodities. “We want to stop the behaviour of treating Hajj and Umrah pilgrims as economic commodities. Our task is to facilitate them in performing their worship as well as possible,” he said. The third target is the success of morality and civilisation. According to the Deputy Hajj Minister, President Prabowo has advised that Hajj should not stop as a ritual activity or merely a driver of the economic ecosystem, but should become an instrument of national transformation. “Pilgrims who depart to perform the Hajj must return with a stronger national spirit, a higher spirit of national transformation, and strengthened nationalism,” he said.