Indonesia to promote haj savings

Indonesia to promote haj savings

JAKARTA (JP): The government will soon start a savings program
to assist low-income Moslems wanting to make the haj pilgrimage
to Mecca.

Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher said upon his
arrival from Mecca that the government will appoint state-owned
banks to handle the savings.

"Hopefully, the haj savings program can begin next year,"
Tarmizi, who led this year's pilgrimage, told reporters at the
Halim Perdanakusuma airport.

The haj pilgrimage is one of the five tenets of Islam required
for every Moslem who, if he or she is physically and financially
able, must make the trip at least once in a life time.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs coordinates the arrangements
for the pilgrimage, including transportation, accommodations and
logistics.

Tarmizi said low-income Moslems who want to make the haj
pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia are encouraged to take part in the
savings program.

The cost for performing the pilgrimage increases every year.
This year's pilgrimage cost is Rp 7,010 million (US$3,139), up
from Rp 6.9 million last year.

Despite the high cost, the number of Indonesians going to
Mecca rises every year. This year, the number reached a record
high of 197,000.

The haj savings program was proposed by Indonesian Haj
Brotherhood (IPHI) organization last year. It was inspired by the
Malaysian Haj Savings Institute.

The funds collected from prospective pilgrims will be invested
by the banks. Any profit earned will be added to a customer's
account over a period of years until there is enough to go to
Mecca.

Tarmizi said that only state-owned banks that will be allowed
to handle the savings program for "security reasons."

"You can imagine what could happen if a private bank handling
the funds went bankrupt?," he said.

Tarmizi also said that the ministry will take stern actions
against any state-owned bank that manipulated the data for this
year's haj pilgrimage.

"I will coordinate the actions with the Minister of Finance,"
he said.

He said that the Ministry of Religious Affairs had discovered
several cases of manipulation, including one involving several
state-owned banks.

He said that one state-owned bank manipulated the data of
hundreds of their customers to allow those on the waiting list to
go at the expense of others who had long confirmed their
departure.

He did not name the banks but said they had intentionally
altered records of the customers' haj fee payment dates so they
appeared to have been made prior to the official deadline of Feb.
6.

The state-owned banks authorized to receive haj fees are Bank
Negara Indonesia, Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Bank Exim, Bank Dagang
Negara, and Bank Bumi Daya.

Tarmizi said the ministry will be strict about the number of
Indonesian haj pilgrims next year. The Saudi government has set
the quota at 0.1 percent of a country's Moslem population.

"We will close the haj pilgrimage application when the number
has reached the quota set by the Saudi authorities," he said.

The minister said that some 19,000 Indonesian haj pilgrims had
returned as of yesterday.

The ministry said yesterday that the number of Indonesian
pilgrims that died during the pilgrimage had reached 269 as of
yesterday afternoon. (imn)