Five Steps for Indonesia to Become a Global Benchmark for Hajj Services

The 1447 H/2026 M Hajj season has concluded. More than 220,000 Indonesian pilgrims have returned home, carrying invaluable spiritual experiences. However, for the organisers, the end of the season should not merely mark the closure of operations, but rather the beginning of an honest evaluation of what truly transpired on the ground. This year’s Hajj administration holds historical significance. For the first time, the pilgrimage was managed by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, which now stands as an independent institution. The public, along with millions of pilgrims still waiting in a years-long queue, harbour high hopes that this new institutional structure represents more than just a change of nameplate, but a genuine leap in service quality. That hope has yet to be fully realised. This needs to be discussed openly, not to assign blame, but to ensure that within five years, Indonesia becomes a global benchmark for Hajj services, rather than merely the largest sender of pilgrims. One fact demands deeper reflection: in the 2026 Hajj season, Indonesia was once again absent from the list of Labaytum Award recipients from the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the highest accolade for countries demonstrating the best service standards. Meanwhile, Malaysia, which sends far fewer pilgrims, secured the Diamond Award for the fifth consecutive time. This gap is not a matter of scale. Herein lies the paradox: the country with the world’s largest pilgrim quota should possess the greatest leverage to define world-class Hajj service standards. Large scale is not a barrier; it is an opportunity and a moral responsibility that cannot be deferred. Evaluations of Hajj operations have been too focused on administrative success: the percentage of visas processed on time, the number of flight groups departing on schedule, and the number of pilgrims repatriated without major incident. These indicators are important, but insufficient. Through its Vision 2030 programme, Saudi Arabia has shifted the benchmark to a different level: pilgrim experience, service response speed, digital integration, and real-time risk mitigation capabilities. These are the criteria for the Labaytum Award, and it is here that Indonesia lags behind. Based on field observations and evaluations, there are at least five urgent issues that must be addressed seriously, not with rhetoric, but with measurable systemic changes. First, human resources remain the weakest link in the service chain. Indonesia sends over 221,000 pilgrims annually, yet lacks a national certification system requiring officers to master communicative Arabic, crisis management, cross-cultural negotiation, the use of Saudi digital applications, and up-to-date knowledge of Saudi regulations. This is not a new complaint; it recurs year after year.