Papuan Hajj Pilgrims Enter Hajj Dormitory in Makassar

Makassar (ANTARA) - The Papua Regional Office of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, which oversees three new provinces in the region, has transported prospective Hajj pilgrims to the Sudiang Hajj Dormitory, Embarkation Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The Head of the Papua Regional Office, Musa Narwawan, in Makassar on Saturday, stated that the prospective Hajj pilgrims from Papua, in line with their quota of 933 people, with the first group entering the dormitory at 7:00 p.m. WITA.

“We at the Papua Regional Office of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah oversee three new provinces in Papua, and all the prospective Hajj pilgrims from those areas are still included in the quota of the Papua Regional Office,” he said.

The three provinces in Papua under the Papua Regional Office are Papua Pegunungan, Central Papua, and South Papua.

Musa Narwawan explained that the 933 prospective Hajj pilgrims are a combination from four provinces and will be divided into three flight groups (kloter).

He stated that two of the groups are fully filled with pilgrims from Papua, namely groups 27 and 29, while the other group will join with pilgrims from South Sulawesi Province in group 31.

“So the Papua pilgrims get three groups, two of which are full groups of native Papuan residents, and one group is a combination with residents from South Sulawesi Province,” he said.

He noted that for 2025, the Hajj quota in Papua Province, when it was still under the Ministry of Religious Affairs, was 1,076 pilgrims, but after the formation of the dedicated Hajj ministry, the quota decreased to 933 people.

He stated that the Hajj quota distribution is adjusted according to the number of Muslim residents in the area.

“Because the distribution scheme before the Ministry of Hajj transitioned from the Ministry of Religious Affairs used a formula of one thousand per number of Muslim residents in each respective area,” he said.