Govt to restrict individual haj quota
Govt to restrict individual haj quota
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government is considering drafting a policy that will limit
an individual's haj trip to once every five years, due to the
country's limited quota that has not met demands.
Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agiel Munawar said on
Thursday that the policy would enable more people to perform the
pilgrimage, one of the five Islamic obligations written in the
Hadith, a collection of Mohammad's deeds and words.
It has become common practice for rich Muslims to make the haj
to Saudi Arabia frequently, sometimes annually, under the
government-sanctioned program. The haj cost US$2,100 this year.
The minister said the government would follow in the footsteps
of Saudi Arabian government: "The Saudi Arabian government has
applied this rule to their citizens and others living in that
country. We think it might be a good idea for us to follow suit."
As the world's most populous Muslim country, Indonesia sends
more than 200,000 Muslims every year on the haj, as Saudi Arabia
imposes a quota restriction of one haj pilgrim per 1,000 people.
Indonesia has a population of over 220 million.
The ministry has imposed its own quota restriction for each
province due to the limited seats, which means that most
applicants do not make the short-list.
The haj policy plan comes on the heels of a public outcry
demanding Said's resignation for a brouhaha that ensued from his
announcement that the national quota had been increased by 30,000
this year -- before Saudi Arabia had responded to Indonesia's
request. Said announced Riyadh's rejection of the request when
those on the waiting list had already paid their haj fees.
Although the quota for next year remains unchanged, the Saudi
Arabian government had extended a special invitation to relatives
of the Feb. 1 Mina stampede victims, Said said.
"The Saudi Arabian government will allow three family members
of each victim to make the pilgrimage for free," he said.
The religious affairs ministry's latest data shows that 65
Indonesians were killed in the tragedy, so 195 seats will be
added to next year's haj quota.
Said said the ministry would contact the victims' families to
arrange their trip, while the government would provide each
family with U$2,750 in compensation for their loss.
The Saudi Arabian government is planning to expand the Mina
site and build a four-story bridge to accommodate the pilgrims to
prevent another stampede.
In 1990, more than 562 Indonesians were among the 1,500
pilgrims trampled to death in Mina, while 274 pilgrims, including
six Indonesians, died in a similar incident in Mina in 1994.