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.