Finance Minister Purbaya Cancels This Year's Hajj Pilgrimage: Not His Time Yet

Not going ahead, he-he-he… Perhaps not his time yet,” Purbaya told reporters at the Presidential Palace complex, Jakarta, on Thursday, 20 May 2026. Purbaya did not explain the reason for cancelling the Hajj, but he denied that the decision was influenced by the economy. “No, no, not yet—it’s not his time,” he said. He noted that not only he but his entire family would also cancel; he planned to reschedule the pilgrimage for next year. “It’s sad, but it’s not too sad. I’ll undertake the Hajj next year,” he added. “Pray that next year there will be no further cancellations,” Purbaya added. Purbaya had previously said he would depart today to perform the pilgrimage, planned to last 10 days. “Thursday 21 May, if there are no impediments. (For) 10 days,” he told reporters after a limited meeting with President Prabowo at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, Monday 18 May 2026. Purbaya later revealed that preparations to depart for Hajj had begun two weeks earlier. In a light-hearted note, he admitted that he had been studying the prayers but still forgets them. “Preparations for Hajj have been under way for two weeks; I have studied the prayers but they still escape me,” he said.