House team to spend $72,000 to supervise haj
Kurniawan Hari The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Fourteen members of the House of Representatives will fly to Saudi Arabia for 10 days to supervise the management of Indonesia's haj pilgrimage at the cost of about Rp 670 million (US$72,000).
The team will depart on Jan. 15 and return home on Jan. 25.
House Deputy Speaker Zaenal Ma'arif of the Reform Star Party (PBR) said the cost of the initiative excluded transportation costs for the team while in Saudi Arabia.
"We will get transportation facilities from the Indonesian Consulate in Mecca. We need vehicles with special tags to help us get around during our supervision," he said here on Thursday.
Zaenal, who is a member of the team going to Saudi Arabia, said each legislator would receive a daily stipend and allowance during their stay.
Zaenal, as a deputy speaker, will receive $270 per day, while the other 13 team members will get $230 a day.
The 14 legislators will receive another $3,000 each simply for their participation in this initiative.
One team member, actress-cum-politician Marissa Haque of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), pledged the utmost diligence in supervising the pilgrimage.
Indonesia sends about 220,000 haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia every year. Each pilgrim must pay about Rp 24 million and the country collects about Rp 5.28 trillion from the haj each year.
Many of the haj pilgrims have to wait for as long as one year after paying their fee to depart for Saudi Arabia. Many critics have complained of the lack of transparency in the management of the haj money, particularly considering that those who manage the money could make a large profit from the interest gained by keeping the haj fees in bank deposits.
"Is anyone abusing the system to make money from the interest on the haj fees? There are many issues to be monitored," Marissa said.
Akmaldin Noor of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said the team would collect information in Saudi Arabia that would help the House revise Law No. 17/1999 on the haj to improve the system.
For example, Indonesian pilgrims have to pay more than Malaysians. The cost in Malaysia is about RM 8,973 (about Rp 20 million), including air fare and accommodation in Saudi Arabia.
Marissa said that although Indonesian pilgrims paid more than their counterparts in Malaysia, the Malaysians received better facilities.
She pointed out as an example that Indonesian pilgrims stayed about three kilometers from the Al Haram Mosque in Mecca, while Malaysian pilgrims were located only between 100 meters and 500 meters from the mosque. The haj procession centers on the Al Haram Mosque.