Pilgrims protest levy

Pilgrims protest levy

BANYUMAS, Central Java: As many as 720 people who have just
returned from a haj pilgrimage lodged a protest Wednesday against
the regent and the head of the Prosecutors' Office over a levy of
Rp 200,000 that each had to pay before leaving for Mecca.

One of the complainants, Sidik Fauzan, said he had sent a
letter to Banyumas Regent Djoko Sudantoko asking where the extra
Rp 200,000 had gone to.

He said that the imposition of the additional Rp 200,000 was a
burden to prospective pilgrims, but said they had no choice but
to pay the additional fund. "Or we might have failed to go to the
Holy Land," Sidik said.

He said that each prospective pilgrim had paid an additional
Rp 200,000, meaning that the regency committee had collected at
least Rp 144 million.

The official pilgrimage cost this year is Rp 7,551,000 per
person.

An official from the Ministry of Religious Affairs office said
that an agreement had been reached between the pilgrims and the
committee on the additional cost before the pilgrims flew to
Mecca. (wah/sur)