Jakarta sends 37,116 to Mecca

Jakarta sends 37,116 to Mecca

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta will send 37,116 haj pilgrims, whose
transportation to Mecca will start early next month,
Soenarjudardji, head of the City Haj Pilgrim Management Office,
said yesterday.

Soenarjudardji told reporters that another 4,875 are still
grouped on a waiting list due to the limited haj quota set by the
Saudi government.

"Out of the 37,116 haj pilgrims to depart this year, 3,458 are
from Central Jakarta, 1,336 from North Jakarta, 3,774 from West
Jakarta, 4,720 from South Jakarta and 4,046 from East Jakarta as
well as another 19,782 from various foundations in the city," he
said.

The number of people, thought Indonesia, registering for this
year's haj pilgrimage reached 231,000, far exceeding the quota of
only 195,000, he said.

Currently the Indonesian government is still negotiating with
Saudi Arabia for additional quota to accommodate about 36,000
registrants grouped in the waiting list, he said.
Soenarjudardji said that out of the 4,875 registrants put on the
waiting list in Jakarta, 363 people are from Central Jakarta, 97
from North Jakarta, 245 from West Jakarta, 924 from South
Jakarta, 93 from East Jakarta and 3,152 from a number of
foundations in the city.

"The decision to put them on the waiting list is based on the
Minister of Religious Affairs's instruction," he said.

In an effort to anticipate accusations about the unfairness in
the registration of the haj pilgrims, Minister of Religious
Affairs Tarmizi Taher and his team visited City Hall yesterday to
explain about the figures to a number of public figures and
religious leaders in Jakarta.

Tarmizi's team consists of members of the Indonesian Ulema
Council, the House of Representatives and other related
institutions. (yns)