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)