Former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut: Which State Funds Were Reduced by the Hajj Quota Allocation Process?
Former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas has called for the state losses in the alleged corruption case concerning Indonesia’s 2023-2024 hajj quota to be explained openly and in detail.
“It is also not explained which state funds were reduced by the process of implementing this quota allocation and so forth. This must be proven clearly and transparently,” Yaqut said at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.
According to Yaqut, the state losses in the indictment are only stated as amounting to Rp622.09 billion without any explanation of the calculation method.
Nevertheless, he said he continues to respect the legal process and will undergo it in accordance with applicable regulations.
Yaqut assessed that the indictment against him in the alleged hajj quota corruption case is unclear, imprecise, and incomplete.
He said the indictment conflates ministerial policy with technical policy, which he argued falls under the authority of the director general.
Therefore, Yaqut argued that the matter of hajj quota allocation is part of government policy.
Yaqut also claimed he never ordered his subordinates to commit corruption, engage in the buying and selling of hajj quotas, or relax regulations.
“There was none. I never did that. What I emphasised was actually the opposite — that no corrupt acts should be permitted,” he said.
During his tenure as Religious Affairs Minister, Yaqut said he always stressed to his subordinates that the implementation and preparation of the hajj pilgrimage should prioritise the comfort and safety of pilgrims.
In this case, Yaqut is charged with causing state financial losses of Rp622.09 billion through the transfer and arrangement of the additional special hajj quota allocation for 2024 amounting to 50 percent without a technical study basis.
Additionally, Yaqut is charged with filling the additional special hajj quotas for 2023 and 2024 with special hajj pilgrims without waiting periods and special hajj pilgrims with certain waiting periods that did not comply with the mechanism.
These acts were allegedly committed together with Yaqut’s former special staff member Ishfah Abidal Aziz, also known as Gus Alex, Maktour Operations Director Ismail Adham, and former Chairman of the Indonesian Hajj and Umrah Travel Association Asrul Aziz Taba.
Prosecutors stated that the filling of the additional special hajj quota was carried out to accommodate requests from the Special Hajj Organisers association, accompanied by the receipt of acceleration fees from pilgrims and special hajj officers.