Government waives permit for 'umrah' pilgrimage
Government waives permit for 'umrah' pilgrimage
JAKARTA (JP): One permit was abolished yesterday, but this has nothing to do with cumbersome business permits. This one is the permit required for people intending to perform umrah -- a minor haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher announced that President Soeharto has agreed to waive the rule obliging people to obtain the permit from the Directorate General of Immigration if they go during the Ramadhan month.
The move, he said, was taken because of the big jump in the number of people performing umrah during the current Ramadhan fasting month. "Just yesterday, for example, about 50,000 Indonesians returned from Saudi Arabia after performing umrah."
"President Soeharto asked me to simplify the procedures for umrah during Ramadhan, but said that the requirement would be reimposed if people abused the facility," he said after reporting to the head of state at the latter's Jl. Cendana residence.
The regulation was imposed in 1983, supposedly to prevent people from abusing their stay in Saudi Arabia, by staying there for two more months and join haj proper pilgrimage.
Despite the regulation, thousands of people each year have performed the haj proper this way, some finding jobs in between to support their stay.
Tarmizi warned that the government would clamp down hard on travel agents and brokers who organize such trips luring people, particularly the poor, with promises that they can easily find jobs in Saudi Arabia.
In reality, he said, many people were left stranded with no money even to pay for their return airfare.
Tarmizi said that his office would also tightly monitor travel agencies which organize umrah pilgrimages.
The presence of these Indonesian overstayers has also affected pilgrims whose travels were arranged by the government, as Saudi Arabia has imposed strict quota for each country.
Indonesia has been allocated a quota of 196,000 pilgrims, while actual demand is believed to exceed that number.
The government has been encouraging those who could not join the haj proper to go on umrah pilgrimages instead. (imn)