Government to Crack Down on Banks Still Providing Hajj Bailout Funds
The government has stressed that it will crack down on the practice of providing hajj bailout funds still carried out by a number of banks and financial institutions.
Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak asserted that the practice of hajj bailout funds should no longer be carried out. This is because the scheme is considered to have the potential to encourage prospective pilgrims to fall into debt in the name of worship.
“This is a note for us to banks. Including our colleagues at the Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH), there is no such thing as bailout funds,” Dahnil said during a meeting with Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Wednesday (19/8/2026).
According to him, there are still tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of prospective pilgrims who are burdened with debt as a result of using hajj bailout fund facilities. This situation is a concern for the government because it is considered to burden people who wish to perform the hajj pilgrimage.
“Those who previously received assistance from the Government of the United Arab Emirates, most of them we channelled to help people who are in debt,” Dahnil explained.
He stressed that the Ministry of Religious Affairs, through the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah Administration (PHU), has repeatedly reminded that the practice of hajj bailout funds should no longer be carried out. The government considers the scheme inconsistent with the principles of sound and sustainable hajj management.
Going forward, the government will take action against banks and financial institutions that still offer hajj bailout funds to the public. According to Dahnil, the practice has the potential to trap people into debt by exploiting their desire to perform the pilgrimage.
“In the future, we will crack down on this. This is trapping people in the name of worship. We are starting to sort this out,” he stressed.