MPR Deputy Chairman on Hajj War Ticket Proposal: Needs Deeper Examination

JAKARTA - MPR Deputy Chairman Hidayat Nur Wahid believes that the proposal for implementing a Hajj “war ticket” scheme, put forward by Deputy Minister for Hajj and Umrah Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, should be examined more deeply and comprehensively to avoid stirring up public unrest.

“If it comes from the government, in this case the Ministry of Religious Affairs, it should not just be a proposal but a well-matured plan that has been thoroughly and comprehensively studied, discussed with our partners in the DPR’s Commission VIII, and only then presented to the public so as not to cause issues that lead to controversy,” Hidayat said in Cikini, Central Jakarta, on Sunday (12/4/2026).

However, he cautioned that the scheme must not contravene the Hajj and Umrah Law.

“Indeed, I agree with this proposal in principle as a solution, but it should not potentially violate the law or must be tied to the implementation of the law,” he stated.

He again referred to the statutory regulations, which allocate additional quotas at 92% for regular Hajj and 8% for special Hajj.

“So if a war ticket is desired for additional (quotas), what about the existing law? Or it needs to be examined more deeply, or the Ministry of Religious Affairs should study it more deeply and discuss it specifically in meetings with the DPR,” he said.

Previously, the government planned to implement the Hajj war ticket scheme.

This proposal was conveyed by Deputy Minister for Hajj and Umrah Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak as one option in organising the Hajj pilgrimage.

“In the future, if Saudi Arabia opens up a large quota, we will open two schemes. The first is the existing queue scheme. The second scheme is what the Minister (Irfan Yusuf) termed the war ticket,” Dahnil said at the closing of the National Coordination Meeting of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Tangerang, Banten, on Friday (10/4/2026), as reported by Antara.

Although it has been presented to the public, this scheme is still in the study phase and has not become government policy.

The government is still considering the scheme as part of efforts to transform the Hajj system in Indonesia.

According to Dahnil, the term Hajj war ticket emerged as part of the transformation formulation to address the long waiting period for Hajj.

This is because the average waiting time for Hajj departure in Indonesia currently stands at around 26.4 years.

The government is seeking solutions to shorten the queue without sacrificing pilgrims who registered earlier.