House of Representatives Commission VIII deems "war ticket" unable to resolve Hajj queue issues
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Chairman of Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Marwan Dasopang, emphasised that the concept of “war ticket” in organising the Hajj pilgrimage will not resolve the fundamental issues, given that Indonesia’s Hajj system depends on quota agreements with the Saudi Arabian government.
“Our Hajj process cannot be resolved by Indonesia alone. Because the Hajj site is in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia must reach an agreement,” Marwan stated during a Working Meeting with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (Kemenhaj) in Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday.
He explained that Indonesia has received a quota of around 221,000 people from Saudi Arabia, which forms the basis for annual Hajj organisation. With this quota, the government is obliged to prepare pilgrims, including reserves, to anticipate various possibilities in the field.
According to him, the ticket hunting mechanism or “war ticket” will not be effective in alleviating the long Hajj queues. Marwan stressed that the waiting list system is the fairest option compared to other methods such as lotteries.
“If drawn by lottery, some can depart multiple times, while others never depart at all. The waiting list provides a sense of justice,” he said.
He also highlighted the length of the current Hajj waiting list, which reaches millions of registrants. This condition, he said, is inseparable from the high interest of the public and the obligation of Hajj for Muslims who are financially and physically capable.
Regarding Hajj fund management, Marwan explained that the establishment of the Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH) is an inevitability to avoid conflicts of interest and increase transparency from what was previously managed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag).
“So that there are no conflicts of interest in managing Hajj finances. So BPKH is not a factor (causing queues), BPKH is an inevitability,” he stated.
Additionally, he proposed that Indonesia could utilise unused quotas from other countries, with the approval of the Saudi Arabian government, to avoid future problems.
“It once happened that Indonesians departed for Hajj from the Philippines. Their quota was not used, so we used it. But it turned out to be a violation and problematic, eventually not allowed (to use other countries’ quotas),” said Marwan.
“Therefore, we ask the Minister of Hajj to negotiate with friendly countries together with the Saudi side, that Saudi is willing to allow Indonesia to use quotas from friendly countries. I think this is a method we must pursue to reduce the quite long waiting list,” he added.