Indonesian Hajj dam meat distributed to Palestinians

Makkah (ANTARA) — The Government of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) has agreed with the operator of the Hajj dam meat in Saudi Arabia, Adahi Project, to channel a majority of the dam meat belonging to Indonesian prospective hajj pilgrims to Palestinian communities. Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah, in Makkah on Friday, said the move represents tangible concern and an obligation from the President of RI to give greater attention to the Palestinian people. ‘We have agreed and specifically asked the Government of Saudi Arabia through Adahi to distribute this dam meat to Palestinian communities. Adahi has stated its willingness,’ Dahnil said. In addition to Palestine, Dahnil added, part of the dam meat will also be distributed to people in need in other Middle Eastern countries. Alongside this humanitarian diplomacy success, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah this year also marked a new chapter in hajj governance, particularly regarding the documentation of dam payments by prospective hajj pilgrims, which is much more organised. According to provisional data up to Friday (22/5), 126,832 prospective pilgrims have been clearly recorded with their dam payment method. Of that number, 90,956 pilgrims chose to pay through the Adahi facility in the holy land. Meanwhile, 32,691 pilgrims chose to perform the dam in the homeland through official zakat institutions or privately. ‘But there are also pilgrims who paid their dam by fasting, namely 3,195 people, and those performing hajj ifrad or not required to pay dam amounting to 1,076 people,’ Dahnil said. This data collection achievement is markedly and positively higher than last year. In the previous hajj season, from a total of 221,000 prospective pilgrims, only about 10,000 were detected performing dam in an organised manner, i.e., 8,000 via Adahi and 2,000 in the homeland. Dahnil added that the data of prospective pilgrims who have fulfilled the dam obligation remains highly likely to increase and will be updated periodically by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.