Haj fund corruption rampant, systematic

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The ongoing inquiry into haj pilgrimage funds has revealed more irregularities within the Ministry of Religious Affairs in managing the funds, indicating more money was taken than the Rp 684 billion (US$72 million) allegedly embezzled.

Legislator Said Abdullah from House of Representatives' Commission VIII for religious affairs, social affairs and women's empowerment, said there had been mark-ups in the use of the haj funds.

The commission's working committee for the 2006 haj funds, for instance, found items in the ministry's budget unrelated to the haj pilgrimage, which the pilgrims had borne the cost of.

"There are costs such as for haj familiarization, the rent of buildings, service of vehicles and workers' payment, which total around Rp 185 billion," Said told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The most obvious mark up is in operational costs, he said, such as for accommodation, which should have been no more than 1,518 Saudi Arabian riyal (US$405) a room but was stated as 1,600 riyal per person.

The commission, Said said, had asked ministry officials about the costs but received no direct answer.

"They directed us to the ministry's treasurer, who knows about the costs, but when we asked for the treasurer, they couldn't answer," he said.

Said said the commission's investigation would leave no stone unturned, promising that if the matter was not resolved the 2006 haj costs would be altered.

"We will ask the government to pay the unrelated costs instead of burdening the pilgrims," he said.

The corruption case in the ministry surfaced with last week's detention of Taufiq Kamil, the ministry's director-general for Islamic guidance and haj management, due to alleged abuse involving Rp 684 billion in haj pilgrimage funds.

Taufiq was largely responsible for the management of millions of dollars in haj funds, which should have been kept in just one bank account but turned out to be spread across several accounts unrelated to pilgrimage affairs.

Some of the money was allocated for at least five items in the ministry's budget, such as salary bonuses, housing compensation and management funds for ministry officials, in addition to an interest-bearing haj trust fund.

Said commented that the haj trust fund has been used as if it was the ministry's own fund, while it was actually the people's money.

"It's been disbursed without any system or management. And nobody knows for sure what the total stands at," he said.

Islamic scholar Komaruddin Hidayat who served as director general overseeing education in the ministry some five years ago, said the haj trust fund had always been questionable.

"It's not part of the national budget. But the trust fund comes from zakat (obligatory donations), operational cost efficiency and other savings, which are supposed to be collected and used for the people's benefit," said Komaruddin, who resigned from the ministry, saying that "bureaucrats tend to be spending oriented."

There has never been a standard procedure or mechanism, however, regarding the use of the funds as the ministry has never been transparent about it.

"There was an internal audit, but there has been no public report or report to the House, although it was the people's money," he said.

Komaruddin said he was not sure about how much the trust fund amounted to, but when the minister was Tarmidzi Taher, who served the Cabinet from 1993 to 1998, the fund was around Rp 1 billion.

"Theoretically, it should have increased every year due to unused funds," he said.