Middle East Conflict: PDIP Urges Government to Prepare Options for Hajj Operations

Selly Gantina, representative of PDIP on Commission VIII of the House of Representatives, has urged the government to protect the stability of hajj pilgrims and hajj financing in light of the conflict in the Middle East. She called on the government to ensure that hajj finances are not disrupted.

“The escalating Middle East conflict impacts all aspects, from security to the economy. For this reason, comprehensive mitigation is needed, including bringing home umrah pilgrims and ensuring that hajj financing is not disrupted,” Selly said in a statement on Thursday, 12 March 2026.

In addition, Selly reminded the government of the need to prepare contingency financing and logistics scenarios should an emergency situation require pilgrims to remain longer in Saudi Arabia. According to her, if an extraordinary situation were to occur that would cause pilgrims to be stranded, it would raise questions regarding the financing of accommodation and additional transportation.

“In such circumstances, we cannot simply burden the entire cost to the funds managed by BPKH (State Pilgrimage Fund Management Agency). Hajj funds must be maintained for sustainability. We must not use all financial resources to address short-term situations, only to find insufficient funds available in the following year to send pilgrims,” she explained.

Furthermore, Selly also asked the government to prepare various schemes for repatriating hajj pilgrims should primary flight routes be disrupted. Selly believes that if there were a change in flight routes, with a longer route via Africa, then operational costs would increase significantly.

Selly noted that Indonesian hajj flights are currently serviced by two major airlines: Garuda Indonesia and Saudi Arabian Airlines. According to her, foreign airlines may not necessarily be willing to reschedule with longer routes without additional cost consequences.

“For this reason, the government must prepare various options from now on, ranging from diplomatic coordination, airline readiness, to emergency financing schemes, so that the safety and certainty of pilgrim repatriation remain guaranteed,” she said.

The government, she said, will monitor and ensure the protection of hajj pilgrims. According to her, the government needs to develop several travel scenarios.

“Hajj and umrah pilgrimage are not merely spiritual journeys, but also involve the management of cross-border public services. Therefore, the state’s readiness to face various crisis scenarios is part of our constitutional responsibility to the pilgrims,” she concluded.