DPR Hajj Oversight Team Says Jemaah Transport Not Yet Ready to Cope with the Surge

The Indonesian House of Representatives’ Hajj Oversight Team has urged the Ministry of Hajj to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the patterns of pilgrims’ transport, including the readiness of standby terminals and cross‑authority coordination systems. The request follows the rise in Indonesian hajj pilgrims in the 2026 season, which has begun to raise serious problems in the transport sector. Selly Andriany Gantina, a member of the Hajj Oversight Team (Timwas) of the Indonesian House of Representatives for 2026, said the surge has triggered thousands of pilgrims to queue at several terminals in Mecca. She said the congestion should signal that the mobility system prepared by the Ministry of Hajj is not yet fully ready to face the high flows between locations of worship. In relation to that evaluation, she identified the most urgent issue to be addressed as Al-Hidayah Terminal, known as the ‘shadow terminal’, which was closed for two days. As a result of the closure, long queues formed. According to Selly, the operation of Al-Hidayah Terminal remains dependent on coordination between the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and the relevant parties; as a result, thousands have already piled up before the terminal opens. ‘Each time they want to activate Al-Hidayah Terminal, they must coordinate with the Saudi government. Pilgrims have already queued, and only by noon does the terminal operate,’ she said after the Hajj Timwas meeting with the Head of Madinah Daker at the Madinah Daker Office in Saudi Arabia, on Monday 18 May. The situation has led to many pilgrims being held up for hours in the hot weather and the dense movement of pilgrims. At least 21,000 pilgrims are said to be using that terminal. Not only at Al-Hidayah, congestion was also reported at Syib Amir Terminal, the official operational terminal for Indonesian pilgrims. The waves of arrivals and movements occurring simultaneously made the terminal situation increasingly chaotic. Selly says this issue cannot be considered a routine technical obstacle. He warned that congestion at the terminal could disrupt the rhythm of pilgrims’ worship, especially as the peak Hajj phase approaches, which requires large-scale mobility towards Armuzna. ‘The crowding leads to people jostling as Wave One and Wave Two pass,’ said the PDI-P politician. The Timwas Hajj committee believes that strengthening communication between Indonesian Hajj organisers and the Saudi authorities is the key to ensuring such problems do not recur each Hajj season, particularly when pilgrim numbers increase significantly.