House commission wants better haj arrangements

House commission wants better haj arrangements

JAKARTA (JP): Commission IX of the House of Representatives
has called for better coordination between the national
government and provincial and regency governments in organizing
future haj pilgrimage operations.

As this year's haj operation reached its halfway mark, members
of the commission inspected the Pondok Gede Haj Dormitory in East
Jakarta yesterday, where pilgrims spend one night before boarding
their flights for Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

After the visit, Commission IX Chairman Ismael Hasan praised
the government for doing its utmost to facilitate the departure
of the 195,000 pilgrims, the largest number ever sent by
Indonesia.

The massive haj operation, which was launched at the beginning
of this month, was beset in its first week by delays as many
pilgrims who were booked on the first flights did not yet have
their visas. The delays caused a huge pile up anxious pilgrims at
Pondok Gede.

The government has now managed to ease the congestion and
pilgrims are getting their visas on time.

Tuesday was the halfway mark of the haj operation, with 97,291
Indonesian pilgrims having already arrived in Jeddah aboard 226
flights. The government has scheduled 452 flights to transport
all 195,000 Indonesian pilgrims.

Another 35,000 Indonesians who registered for this year's haj
pilgrimage have been put on the waiting list as Indonesia has
been allocated a quota of 195,000 pilgrims this year.

The haj operation is coordinated by the Ministry of Religious
Affairs. Most people blamed the ministry for the chaos in the
first week of the operation, but criticism of Minister Tarmizi
Taher has ebbed since he publicly accepted all the blame last
week.

Ismael Hasan yesterday stressed the importance of the full
support of regional administrations to the success of the haj
operation.

He called for greater efforts to eliminate loopholes in the
haj arrangements that have, he said, allowed people to exploit
the pilgrimage program for profit.

He said that the objective of the government's haj operation
was to cater for the needs of the pilgrims and that it should not
cause them suffering.

"For next year's pilgrimage, Commission IX urges the
government to give priority to those who are on this year's
waiting list," Hasan said.

"The government should also close the registration the moment
it reaches the quota," he said.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian consulate in Jeddah reported that
four more Indonesian pilgrims died yesterday, bringing the total
so far to 17. Three of yesterday's deaths were caused by heart
failure and the fourth by lung disease, the consulate reported.

Last year, 638 out of the 165,000 Indonesian pilgrims died in
Saudi Arabia. (29)