Proposal for improved haj

From Media Indonesia

With the recent failure to send about 30,000 would-be haj pilgrims, as a moral obligation the Minister of Religious Affairs should publicly apologize to those whose departures were cancelled and refund the money they paid to his ministry.

For the next pilgrimage season, these haj hopefuls, particularly those who are going on the pilgrimage for the first time, should receive priority.

In order to enhance the ministry's performance in organizing the haj, in the future all data on prospective haj pilgrims should be announced through the print media. Their priority selection should be based on the number of times they have been on the haj, their ages and provincial quota allocations.

In this way, the likelihood of irregularities can be reduced and priority given to those going on the journey to the Holy Land for the first time. Meanwhile, those who have fulfilled their pilgrimage obligation once should be willing to make way for the first-timers.

H. WISDARMANTO Jakarta