Govt eases restriction on travel to Saudi Arabia

Govt eases restriction on travel to Saudi Arabia

JAKARTA (JP): The government has reconsidered its stance on
travel to Saudi Arabia, and says that it will now permit haj
pilgrims to travel on their own recognizance, but they must
receive government approval beforehand.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs, which supervises all travel
to Saudi Arabia during the haj season, has also waived a
controversial rule requiring Indonesians intending to work in
Saudi Arabia to obtain a special pass from his office.

The ministry has been trying to control travel in the past
week, saying that unofficial travelers when added to the 158,000
government pilgrims could bring the number of pilgrims above
Saudi Arabia's quota of 160,000.

The Saudi government has said this is not possible, as they
control travel through the issuance of visas. It has promised
that all travelers with visas will be allowed into the country.

Amidhan, the Director General of Islam and Haj Affairs, told
reporters on Saturday that all the government's pilgrims have
visas so there is nothing to worry about.

Amidhan said that his office has already issued permission to
6,024 people wanting to travel to Saudi Arabia on their own.
Permission was also granted to 4,073 workers, 390 for crews of
flights servicing the haj pilgrimage and 1,561 to others,
including non-government pilgrims.

The government has long wanted all haj pilgrims to travel on
its program. For many, the fact that going with the government
costs almost twice as much as private tours, has proved to
alluring to ignore.

The decision to relax the restriction was taken because the
government does not want to be accused of obstructing people who
intend to perform the pilgrimage, he said. "We'll keep issuing
the recommendations until the quota has been taken up."

The issue of green passport pilgrims put Minister of Religious
Affairs Tarmizi Taher on the spot last week with politicians
accusing him of exceeding his authority. Some even suggested that
he resign.

Amidhan appealed to private pilgrims who have not secured
their visas from the Saudi embassy to make their arrangements
with the government instead because without the visa, they would
unlikely obtain the ministry's recommendation.

By Saturday he said that around 1,000 people had applied to
join the government program, he said.

Regarding the fate of Indonesians intending to work in Saudi
Arabia, Amidhan said the decision to waive the requirement for
special passes was taken because the ministry found the burden
too heavy.

Some 2,500 workers bound for Saudi Arabia were stranded at the
Soekarno-Hatta airport last week when the immigration authorities
were ordered to stop them unless they had the special pass issued
by the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The action was protested by IMSA, the association of manpower
supplier companies, who called the requirement inefficient and an
added cost.

Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief apparently intervened on
behalf of the companies resulting in the about face decision last
weekend. (01)