KPK: Yaqut Divided Additional Hajj Quota into 50:50 Split Following Meeting with Travel Association Officials
Jakarta — The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) stated that former Religion Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas ordered the Director General of Hajj and Umrah Delivery (PHU), Hilman Latief, to divide the additional hajj quota from 92 per cent for regular hajj and 8 per cent for special hajj into a proportional 50:50 split.
The order was issued by Yaqut following a meeting with the Steering Committee of the Hajj and Umrah Travel Association Forum (Forum SATHU), Fuad Hasan Masyur, in November 2023.
“At that time, YCQ (Yaqut) conveyed to HL (Hilman Latief) regarding the desire to divide the additional quota of 20,000 into 50:50, so that the additional quota for special hajj became 10,000 and the additional quota for regular hajj became 10,000,” said KPK Deputy for Prosecution and Execution Asep Guntur Rahayu during a press conference at the Red and White Building in Jakarta on Thursday (12 March 2026).
Asep stated that Yaqut also requested Hilman Latief to draft a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding the proposal for additional hajj quotas with a 50:50 split scheme.
Asep noted that Saudi Arabia inputted the additional hajj quota of 20,000 into the e-Hajj application, bringing Indonesia’s total hajj quota to 241,000, which remained combined without quota separation.
Later in November 2023, Yaqut’s special assistant, Ishfah Abidal Aziz alias Gus Alex, requested the Hajj Office in Jeddah to ask Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah to divide the quota into a 50:50 scheme. In response, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah requested a letter from the Indonesian Religion Ministry.
“This was the beginning of the request for a 50:50 quota division from the Indonesian Religion Ministry to Saudi Arabia’s Hajj Ministry,” he said.
Asep stated that in early December 2023, Gus Alex communicated with one of the Directors of Hajj Services at the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah to create a simulation of the regular hajj scheme with an additional regular hajj quota of 50 per cent.
“To date, there is no regulatory basis for the 50:50 additional quota division; the division still refers to the result of Commission 8’s meeting on 27 November 2023, which agreed on a 92:8 quota division,” he said.
Asep stated that in mid-December 2023, Gus Alex communicated with technical staff at the Jeddah Hajj Office requesting translation into Arabic of the points to be discussed in the meeting between Yaqut and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah, with one of the points concerning the base quota of 221,000.
He noted that the Religion Minister requested the allocation of 92 per cent, or 203,320 pilgrims, for regular hajj and 8 per cent, or 17,680 pilgrims, for special hajj. For the additional quota of 20,000, the proposed allocation was 50 per cent (10,000 pilgrims) for regular hajj and 50 per cent (10,000 pilgrims) for special hajj.
Asep stated that Yaqut held a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah, which discussed, among other points, his request for proportional distribution of the additional quota.
In late December 2023, Religion Minister Decree No. 1156 on Additional Hajj Quota for 1445 Hijri/2023 CE was issued, allocating 10,000 additional quotas to each category.