First group of haj pilgrims leave for Saudi Arabia
First group of haj pilgrims leave for Saudi Arabia
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A group of 445 haj pilgrims left the Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport here for Saudi Arabia, at 8 a.m. on Sunday,
marking the start of a month-long dispatch of nearly 200,000
Indonesians who will perform the annual pilgrimage.
Transportation minister Agum Gumelar and health minister
Achmad Sujudi saw off the Muslim pilgrims, all from Bandung
regency in West Java.
Flying with Saudi Arabian Airlines, they were expected to
arrive in Medina at 1:30 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. Jakarta time)
on Sunday, before continuing their journey to Mecca.
Religious minister Said Agiel Munawar and Director General for
the Guidance of the Islamic Community and Haj Affairs Taufik
Kamil were scheduled to welcome them upon arrival in Medina.
Speaking to the press after witnessing the takeoff, Agum gave
his assurance that the aircraft which carry the country's haj
pilgrims were fit to fly.
The second group of 445 pilgrims from Tasikmalaya, West Java,
departed at 10 a.m. Two more groups took off from Juanda Airport
in Surabaya.
In this year's haj season Indonesia will transport about
199,500 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, some 15,000 of them having
opted to take a special package and 3,200 being official guides.
They will depart for Saudi Arabia in 467 flight groups from
eight points in Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan in North Sumatra, Batam
in Riau, Banda Aceh in Aceh, Makassar in South Sulawesi,
Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, and Surakarta in Central Java.
The national flag carrier Garuda and the its Saudi Arabian
counterpart have been chartered to fly the pilgrims, with the
former carrying 302 batches.
"We will serve the pilgrims better than last year," Agum said.
Meanwhile, director for haj services Nurdin Nasution confirmed
that security measures had been stepped up in all haj dormitories
across the country.
Nurdin said that apart from the security check imposed on
people visiting the pilgrims, bomb squads had also been deployed
at the dormitories.
"God willing, the haj pilgrims won't be disturbed," Nurdin
said.
He recalled a recent explosion in a dormitory in North
Sumatra, which broke a dormitory window and damaged the floor.
"Thank God it happened outside the haj season. It was not a
bomb, but a firecracker," Nurdin said.
Meanwhile, health minister Achmad Sujudi said medical staff
would keep an eye on the pilgrims' health until they arrived
home.
"We suggest all haj pilgrims prepare themselves and bring
their personal medicines and belongings with them," he said.
Haj pilgrims are reminded to maintain their physical fitness
now that Saudi Arabia is entering the winter season, when
temperatures range between 5 degrees and 24 degrees Celsius.