NGOs report religious minister to police
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Eight non-governmental organizations filed a complaint with the National Police on Friday, against Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Hussein Al-Munawwar over alleged fraud in relation to the management of the haj pilgrimage.
They accused the minister of "public lies" over the canceled additional quota of 30,000 Indonesian pilgrims, which he had earlier claimed was granted by Saudi Arabia.
The abrupt cancellation forced almost 30,000 Muslims to delay pilgrimage to Mecca this year.
The eight NGOs were the Public Interest Research and Advocacy Center (Pirac), Maslahat Haji, the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), the Government Watch (Gowa), Rabhitah Haji Indonesia, the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI), the Jakarta Consumers Council (LKJ), and Center for Legal and Human Rights Advocacy (Paham).
"We represent eight NGOs filing a complaint against Said Agil for his decision to receive money from prospective pilgrims included in the additional quota of 30,000 people, despite the fact that the government of Saudi Arabia had never agreed to the quota," Gowa executive director Farid Faqih said.
He said every country had the right to send one person for every 1,000 of its people to Mecca in the 2004 haj season, and that Indonesia was entitled to send 205,000 pilgrims because the country had more than 205 million citizens.
On Sept. 20, Said Agil publicly claimed that Saudi Arabia had approved Indonesia's proposal for an additional quota of 30,000 pilgrimage candidates in 2004.
The minister later issued Decree No.460/2003 on the additional quota on Sept. 26.
At least 29,974 more Muslims then registered and paid US$81 million in total to fund their journeys. To prepare for the pilgrimage, they also had to obtain visas, passports and medical certificates, and attend haj training courses.
But the minister suddenly announced on Dec. 19 that the 29,974 pilgrimage hopefuls could not leave for Mecca this year because the Saudi government had canceled the additional quota.
"The truth is that there was a commitment from Saudi Arabia to send only 204,000 pilgrims, and there was no such a thing as an additional quota. This contradicts Said Agil's statement," said Pirac executive director Zaim Saidi.
"Said Agil has violated Article No. 378 of the Criminal Code on fraudulent acts. He has lied to the public, taken advantage of the public, and received money from them," he added.
Those who had believed they would travel to Mecca as part of the additional quota were reportedly angry and shocked. One candidate allegedly died after hearing he had missed out on his chance to be a haji.
The ministry had promised earlier to fully refund the money that the would-be pilgrims had paid several months earlier. But it was not clear whether the government would repay bank interest on the money.
The NGOs also submitted an audio cassette recording of a conversation they claimed had occured between Said Agil's younger brother, named as Fahmi, and an official in the ministry, as well as Imam, a catering employee.
"The recording shows the catering owner had to pay Rp 400 million (US$47,058) to the minister in order to win the bid to supply food for Indonesia's pilgrims. It is additional evidence for the police," said Zaim.
National Police deputy chief of the corruption crime division Sr. Comr. Marshudi Hanafi vowed to follow up on the complaint.
"However, it is too early to summon Said Agil. We will begin studying the case first," he said.