Govt mulls limit on haj pilgrimage

Govt mulls limit on haj pilgrimage

JAKARTA: The government is mulling over a limitation on trips
to Mecca for the haj pilgrim in a bid to provide an equal
opportunity for Indonesian Muslims to perform the pilgrimage.

In a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Coordinating Minister for
People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla said a regulation would be required
to prevent a person from performing a second pilgrimage within
five years of the first.

"There should be a restriction so that people do not perform
the haj pilgrimage every year because that will reduce the chance
of others," Kalla said in the meeting, as quoted by a member of
the presidential staff.

As the world's most populous Muslim country, Indonesia sends
more than 200,000 people every year on the haj, with a long list
of people awaiting their turn.

With the regulation in place, the government expects to reduce
the waiting list of aspirant pilgrims.--JP