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.