Pilgrims' problems

Pilgrims' problems

The sharp increase in the number of haj pilgrims from 165,000 last year to 231,000 this year should have been ample warning that serious problems could loom ahead for the government's program for sending them to the Holy Land.

Transporting such a great number of people within a short period is not an easy job. It involves registration in their respective provinces, visa arrangements through the Saudi Arabian embassy in Jakarta and arrangements for their departure on Garuda airliners from designated embarkation airports. This is not to mention providing satisfactory accommodations in Saudi Arabia and transportation from one ritual site to another while there.

One week after this year's haj operation started last Monday, many complaints have already been registered. The processing of travel documents seems to have been so chaotic that 2,000 prospective pilgrims had their departures postponed. This is quite serious because the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which is responsible for all haj operation in Indonesia, will have to charter more flights.

The Indonesian Consumers Organization has lashed out at the ministry for the serious defects in the haj operation, while Muhammadiyah, the country's largest socio-educational organization, has accused officials and haj organizers of exploiting the pilgrims, who mostly consist of people with modest incomes who paid Rp 7 million (US$3,100) to take the trip to fulfill the sixth basic tenet of Islam.

The Jakarta administration, which determines the order of the departure of the pilgrims not only from the capital city, but also from as far away as Central Java, West Java, and Lampung, has had to share the blame for the chaos, although the root of some problems can be found in the lack of discipline among the pilgrims themselves.

In an effort to make the trip more comfortable, many of them have formed small groups, like neighborhood or study clubs. The trouble comes when these people refuse to leave for the Holy Land, if any of the group have not obtained a visa, although the authorities have booked those whose travel documents were completed for a certain flight.

The main problem with the haj business is the tremendous increase in the number of pilgrims from year to year. This year's number represents a 35 percent jump from last year, which was a 22 percent increase from the previous year. The trend should make us foresee that the coming years will bring more and more problems for this nation, the world's largest Moslem country.

The nation's economic success story and the impressive trend toward stricter adherence to religion among the people -- especially the middle class -- will further increase the number of haj pilgrims. Judging from the recent trend, it does not seem excessive to predict that within the next few years Indonesia may expect 500,000 pilgrims every year.

This will be a great challenge for the nation, which beginning this year is facing a quota imposed by the Saudi government of one pilgrim per 1,000 people in the population.

Clearly, now is the time for the government to take serious steps toward working out the kinks in its haj pilgrimage system.

The pilgrimage, which has a great deal of significance for every Moslem, has been a consideration among the faithful here since the introduction of Islam into this part of the hemisphere by Middle Eastern traders in the 12th century. As time has passed, more and more people have undertaken that journey. It is high time now for the government to think about the possibility of operating the service more professionally and openly, with better trained officials. And if possible, the government should have state-owned companies and selected private travel agencies to run the service on a non-profit basis.

However, first of all, the government should prepare a bill on the haj pilgrimage to give the whole process a more solid legal basis and to replace the current presidential decree, which regulates matters relating to the pilgrimage.