Ministry collects Rp 7.5t haj funds

Ministry collects Rp 7.5t haj funds

JAKARTA: The Ministry of Religious Affairs is seeking ways to
manage a whopping Rp 7.5 trillion (US$773 million) in haj funds
in an accountable manner before it hands over the handling of the
money to the central bank next year.

Minister of Religious Affairs Maftuh Basyuni said on Thursday
the ministry was studying practices in other countries, including
Malaysia.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle legislator Said
Abdullah said the ministry had raked in Rp 7.5 trillion from
pilgrims' Rp 20 million down payments for haj trips between 2004
and 2007. The payments were transferred to the ministry's
account.

Abdullah said the ministry should publicly demonstrate its
accountability in the funds' management, including its interest.

The request comes as the interdepartmental anticorruption team
is investigating the alleged misuse of nearly Rp 700 billion in
unused haj funds between 2001 and 2004. Former religious affairs
minister Said Agil Hussein Al Munawar has been named a suspect in
the case. -- Antara