Ministry defends haj policy

Ministry defends haj policy

JAKARTA: The director general for Islam and haj coordination
at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Taufik Kamil, denied on
Monday there was an auction for haj seats.

Taufik said the 12,000 seats for the haj pilgrimage, known as
ONH Plus, were administered by three haj associations.

The three associations -- AMPUH, AMPPUH and SEPUH -- divided
the 12,000 seats among 201 haj coordinators based on their
performances over the last three years.

"The problem is haj coordinators receive more applications
than their quota, leaving haj applicants unable to go on the
pilgrimage and feeling cheated," Taufik said.

The head of AMPUH, Asrul Aziz Taba, said on Monday that 2,805
of its haj applicants failed to make the pilgrimage due to quota
limitations. --Antara