Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Evaluates Syarikah Performance Over Mina Tents

The Indonesian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has confirmed that evaluations of syarikah, the hajj service providers in Saudi Arabia, will continue, including an assessment of tent usage in Mina. This measure is deemed essential to improve the quality of service for Indonesian pilgrims year after year.

Harun Al Rasyid, Director General of Hajj and Umrah Management at the ministry, stated that the evaluation targets not only the technical aspects of service but also the overall performance of syarikah in meeting the needs of pilgrims during the hajj.

‘Evaluation is a necessity, including for syarikah, to assess the quality of service they provide to Indonesian pilgrims,’ Harun said on Friday (26/6/2026).

According to Harun, the evaluation results will serve as the basis for the government to push for service improvements in the following hajj season. ‘There must be improvements, refinements, and enhancements. From year to year, it must be better and more perfect,’ he said.

Harun also addressed concerns regarding tents in Mina that were reportedly unoccupied by pilgrims and suspected of being used for other purposes. He explained that such conditions do not always indicate irregularities but are influenced by the unpredictable movement dynamics of pilgrims.

‘Regarding the use of tents in Mina, it is sometimes difficult to predict their occupancy. But we must still prepare them,’ he said. He explained that in some cases, pilgrims opt for the tanazul scheme, meaning they do not stay overnight in Mina, which results in some prepared tents remaining empty.

‘However, if pilgrims then choose tanazul, it is possible that the tents will be empty,’ Harun said. According to him, as long as the tents are not used by pilgrims, syarikah generally utilise them to support hajj operational activities. ‘Usually, when tents are empty, the syarikah can use them as sleeping quarters for their workers or to store equipment used to support the facilities and infrastructure for serving pilgrims,’ Harun clarified.