Govt to regulate haj operators

JAKARTA: The government plans to issue a regulation governing a special haj pilgrimage scheme (ONH plus) in a bid to protect pilgrims from cowboy operators, an official said Thursday.

"The regulation is not meant to kill the business, but to prevent the operators from failing to provide the services they promised to the pilgrims," said Taufiq Kamil, Director General for Public Education and Haj Pilgrimage Organization at the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The special scheme, he said, offered a stay in a hotel with the minimum cost being US$3,500 for an entire package.

The regulation would require operators to submit documents on hotel contracts, transportation and other services, as well as the list of applicants for places on the haj pilgrimage before the ministry issued the recommendation needed to obtain haj visas from the Saudi Arabian embassy.

The hotels, Taufiq said, had to be located not more than 500 meters from the Mecca's Haram grand mosque.

The government announced that national flag-carrier Garuda and Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAA) had once again been chosen to carry around 180,000 pilgrims next year. --JP