Legislators use govt funds on haj, minister forgives
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government has decided to look the other way and write-off the expenditure incurred on 46 legislators who allegedly used their status to gain access to state facilities during personal haj pilgrimages in Saudi Arabia last month.
According to reports, none of the 46 were on an official haj pilgrimage. In fact, some were not even supposed to be in Saudi Arabia as they were on an official trip to another part of the world.
Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Husin Al Munawar was content to merely shrug and smile when pressed by reporters about the incident, pledging only that it would not happen again next year.
"They were already there," Said Agil replied when asked why he allowed them to use official facilities. However he refused to reveal the total amount spent on accommodating them.
The scandal came to fore on Monday when members of the House of Representative's Commission VI on Tourism, Culture and Education during a hearing with Said Agil asked why the minister extended facilities to the 46 legislators who, apparently out of the blue, arrived in Saudi Arabia and demanded to be accorded privileges for the haj pilgrimage.
Thirty-three members of Commission IV on Infrastructure and Transportation Affairs had arrived in Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the national flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia.
According to reports, upon their arrival they demanded to be included in the state's haj entourage even though they had not been previously listed for inclusion.
They were joined by another group of 13 legislators, led by Deputy House Speaker A.M. Fatwa, who were actually on an official visit to Cuba, Japan and the United States. It is unclear how they made such a convenient detour and landed in the Middle East.
The 46 legislators also took part in the haj without the appropriate travel documents and visas. They also traveled using service passports instead of the mandatory haj passports.
House members get annual privileges of being included in the official haj entourage with each of the nine commissions being allotted a limited number of places.
Said Agil commended on Monday the members of Commission VI who complied with the allocated five places they were given.
While Said Agil could only sigh, the members of Commission VI were less forgiving.
Ronggo Sunarso of the Indonesian Military/Police faction urged the minister to take strong measures to avoid creating an undesirable precedent.
Abduh Paddare of the United Development Party faction regretted not only the abuse of status for such a holy event but also the misuse of the public's money.