Govt open to suggestions on haj operation
Govt open to suggestions on haj operation
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Religious Affairs, facing strong criticism over the chaos marring this year's haj pilgrimage, says it is open to suggestions on how the operation might be improved.
Amidhan, the ministry's Director General for Islamic and Haj Affairs, has invited the Indonesian Consumers Organization (YLKI) to engage in "constructive talks".
"The government is ready to hold constructive discussions with the YLKI," Amidhan was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying.
Zoemrotin K.S., chairman of the YLKI, lashed out at the government last week for glitches in the ongoing haj operation, including the chaotic processing of travel documents which has caused some 2,000 prospective pilgrims to have their departure postponed.
Zoemrotin called this year's operation "the worst", citing various problems which showed, he said, the "ineffectiveness of the haj operation, which also causes the haj fees to be very expensive".
This year's haj fee is about Rp 7 million (approximately US$3,100).
Amidhan acknowledged the organization's concern for the protection of Moslems as consumers, but reproached it for making arbitrary comparisons. "If this year's operation is the worst, what's the comparison?" he asked.
Another criticism came on Saturday from the Muhammadiyah Moslem organization. Chairman Amien Rais attacked unscrupulous officials and organizers who, he said, exploited pilgrims.
"Don't treat the prospective pilgrims like they are a milk cow," he said. "Stop this exploitation of prospective pilgrims by irresponsible people."
He warned that if prospective pilgrims were so poorly treated they might be driven to hold protests, which might create even greater problems.
"This (situation) could stir up trouble, which, in turn, could be manipulated by certain groups of people," he said. "Pilgrims are basically honest people, so don't let them become the targets of extortion."
However, he admitted that some of the problems that emerged prior to and during the sending of this year's haj pilgrims could not be separated from the surprising increase in the number of people registering to go on the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Amien called for improvements to haj management and the quality of officials. "The chaos is partly caused by some officials' poor preparation in handling the increase in the number of haj pilgrims," he said.
"This should be a lesson for future haj operations," he concluded.
Amidhan yesterday reassured prospective pilgrims from Jakarta who have had their departure delayed that the government was doing its best to solve the problem.
He said the authorities had processed 23,944 passports and visas for Jakarta's pilgrims, but had yet to issue documents for the remaining 7,010 pilgrims who registered in the capital.
Amidhan put some of the blame on the pilgrims themselves for lacking discipline and attempting, for instance, to jump the queue for visas.
He was at pains to point out that the Saudi Arabian embassy here had worked hard in processing the visas. The embassy has been issuing 5,000 to 10,000 visas every day.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian consulate in Jeddah announced on Saturday that two female pilgrims from East Kalimantan had died of heart attacks on Friday.
The ministry announced that Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher, together with director of haj guidance Dr. M. Bambang Pranowo, arrived in Jeddah on Friday for further talks with Saudi officials about the haj quota.
Tarmizi is undertaking a last minute campaign to convince Saudi Arabia to allow more Indonesian pilgrims to go.
As of Saturday, according to the ministry's records, a total of 26,668 pilgrims have departed for Saudi Arabia on 63 flights. (swe)