Pre-trial hearing for former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut postponed to 3 March 2026
Jakarta (ANTARA) — A judge at the South Jakarta District Court has declared that the pre-trial hearing for former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, relating to his designation as a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in an alleged corruption case involving additional hajj quotas for the 2023–2024 hajj seasons, has been postponed to Tuesday, 3 March.
“The hearing is postponed to next Tuesday, 3 March 2026. We will convene at 10:00 Western Indonesian Time,” said Judge Sulistyo Muhammad Dwi Putro during the pre-trial session at the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.
The judge explained that the postponement was in response to a request from the KPK, which sent a letter dated 19 February seeking an adjournment to the following week.
He stressed that the KPK would be summoned for a second and final time in accordance with prevailing regulations. “We will summon the KPK for the second or final time — the rules allow for two summonses. If the KPK does not appear on 3 March, we will proceed with the hearing regardless,” he said.
The pre-trial hearing was originally scheduled for 10:00 at the South Jakarta District Court.
Yaqut filed the pre-trial petition with the South Jakarta District Court in connection with his suspect designation by the KPK in the alleged corruption case involving additional hajj quotas for the 2023–2024 hajj seasons. The petition was registered on Tuesday, 10 February, under case number 19/Pid.Pra/2026/PN JKT.SEL.
The court’s information system did not display the full relief sought in the petition, and the identity of the single judge assigned to examine and adjudicate the case had not yet been disclosed.
The KPK confirmed in January 2026 that former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas had been named a suspect in the alleged corruption case relating to the determination of quotas and the organisation of hajj pilgrimages at the Ministry of Religious Affairs for 2023–2024.
Previously, on 9 August 2025, the KPK announced the commencement of an investigation into the alleged hajj quota corruption and stated it was in communication with the Supreme Audit Agency to calculate state losses.
On 11 August 2025, the KPK announced that preliminary calculations of state losses in the case exceeded Rp1 trillion and imposed travel bans on three individuals for six months.
Those subject to the travel ban were former Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas; Ishfah Abidal Aziz, also known as Gus Alex, a former special staff member during Yaqut’s tenure; and Fuad Hasan Masyhur, the owner of hajj travel operator Maktour.
On 18 September 2025, the KPK suspected that as many as 13 associations and 400 hajj travel agencies were involved in the case.
In addition to the KPK investigation, a special inquiry committee on hajj affairs in the House of Representatives had previously stated that it had identified a number of irregularities in the organisation of the 2024 hajj.
The key issue highlighted by the committee was the 50-50 allocation of the 20,000 additional quota granted by the Saudi Arabian government.
At the time, the Ministry of Religious Affairs divided the additional quota into 10,000 for regular hajj and 10,000 for special hajj.
This allocation was inconsistent with Article 64 of Law Number 8 of 2019 on the Organisation of Hajj and Umrah Pilgrimages, which stipulates that special hajj quotas should constitute eight per cent of the total, with the remaining 92 per cent allocated to regular hajj.