KL haj system reflects poorly on RI

KL haj system reflects poorly on RI

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia should learn from Malaysia in its management of the
haj pilgrimage through the establishment of an autonomous body
accountable to the President and the House of Representatives to
reduce costs and improve services.

Because of its efficient and accountable operation, Malaysia's
Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) or Pilgrims Fund Board can offer much
less expensive haj trips, compared to Indonesia, and better
services for Malaysian pilgrims both at home and in the Holy
Land.

During this past haj season, for instance, Malaysian pilgrims
paid between RM 8,973 (equivalent to approximately Rp 21.5
million, or US$2,300) for adults and just RM 15 for children
under two.

By comparison, Indonesia charged its people Rp 26.2 million
(approximately $2,860) per pilgrim -- a much larger amount for a
country where most people earn less than two dollars a day.

GDP per capita in Indonesia is $2,300, and in Malaysia it is
$9,000, meaning that a haj trip is equivalent to well over a
year's worth of income for the average Indonesian and just a few
months' income for the average Malaysian.

Isnaini bin Ismail, a senior staff member at LTH said the
board did not impose any other fees outside the official rates.

"That's all. The inexpensive price covers everything,
including pre-departure haj training, medical check-ups and
services, round-trip air tickets, land transportation in Saudi
Arabia and housing rent during the haj ritual in Medina, Mecca
and Arafa, as well as food and medical services in the Holy
Land," he told The Jakarta Post by telephone here on Tuesday.

To allow low-income Malaysians to realize their dream of
visiting the Holy Land, the LTH only asks for an initial payment
of RM 1,300 during registration and then the rest can be paid in
installments over a year.

Asked about services provided for pilgrims, Isnaini said: "our
main tasks are to provide passports for the pilgrimage, manage
pilgrimage affairs, give health services and courses on
performing the pilgrimage, provide transportation to and from the
Holy Land, protection, supervision, welfare and security for all
pilgrims."

LTH has a welfare and medical team that provides services to
pilgrims. The team also greets pilgrims at King Abdul Aziz
airport upon their arrival and prior to their departure back
home. They also offer a number of facilities and services in
Mecca and Medina to make the trip as comfortable and enjoyable as
possible in addition to coordinating with Saudi Arabian
officials.

Isnaini said that the LTH had been open and responsive about
complaints in the case of poor services, and pilgrims who did not
receive services they were supposed to were entitled to refunds.

Isnaini conceded that the LTH had still managed to book a
profit from the annual event -- about 4 percent of the total
amount managed -- and was required to report its operation to
Prime Minister and to the Parliament.

As a result of its profitable operation, LTH has amassed a
huge sum of money from the 40-year management of pilgrimage. Some
of the money is put into a trust fund to improve haj services,
other money has been invested in properties and plantations.

"LTH has annually unveiled its accountability to the
government and the Parliament and its investment policy has been
required to gain approval from the government," he said.

In many ways, Indonesia's new haj savings program, which will
come into force for next year's pilgrimage, is quite similar to
the Malaysian way of managing haj funds, but the system is
totally different.

Under Indonesia's new system, prospective pilgrims are
required to deposit Rp 20 million one year before their
departure. Worse still, the money must be deposited into an
account belonging to the Minister of Religious Affairs. However,
it has never been made clear as to where the interest money will
go.

In fact, the government has never been transparent in the
management of haj money and so far, it has just one haj hospital
and a number of haj dormitories and embarkation facilities in
several provinces.

In the recent pilgrimage season, for example, the government
collected approximately Rp 5.3 trillion from 205,000 people who
performed the pilgrimage, most of collected and put into an
account a year before it was used, meaning there could have been
hundreds of billions of rupiah earned in interest. However, to
this point, the accountability of the money has never been
explained to the public.

The House of Representatives, which sent a 15-member
delegation to supervise the pilgrimage management in December
2004 and January 2005, intimated that they smelled corruption.

Nevertheless, the House has promised to give a priority to the
planned review of Law No.17/1999 on haj pilgrimage, especially to
end the government's monopoly on the management of haj pilgrims,
which is blamed for rampant corruption and poor services.