Soeharto calls for better haj organization

Soeharto calls for better haj organization

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto asked Minister of Religious
Affairs Tarmizi Taher yesterday to improve the government's
organization of the haj pilgrimage next year and to learn from
this year, which some have described as the worst ever.

Tarmizi reported to Soeharto on the state of affairs of the
haj pilgrimage and described to reporters later that after chaos
in the beginning, the situation was now under control.

The head of state suggested the deployment of members of the
Armed Forces (ABRI) and university students to assist in the
organization process next year, the minister said.

Indonesia this year is sending 195,000 people, a record number
for the haj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The departures of
the first of more than 450 pre-arranged flights have been
chaotic. Many of those listed among the first to leave are still
not in possession of a visa from the Saudi Arabian embassy in
Jakarta.

Some 36,000 people have been put on the waiting list because
the Saudi government has only allocated Indonesia a quota of
195,000 pilgrims.

Soeharto, according to Tarmizi, likened the Indonesian haj
organization to a military operation in which even the most
meticulous details should be taken care of.

Soeharto, a retired Army general, said transporting the
195,000 pilgrims is like moving some 20 divisions in the army,
with one division consisting of 10,000 troopers.

Criticism of Tarmizi for the haj operation's chaotic first
week ebbed when he announced that he was accepting all the blame.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs was appointed to coordinate
all of the arrangements for Indonesian pilgrims, from their
flights to their accommodations, food and lodging as well as
guidance and counseling.

The minister explained yesterday that the massive number of
pilgrims this year has created difficulties to the organizers.

He pointed out that a host of problems are plaguing the Pondok
Gede haj dormitory in Jakarta, which has to accommodate no less
than 122,000 people this year.

There were no problems at the other four ports of embarkation
in Medan, Surabaya, Ujung Pandang, and Sepinggan, he said.

Tarmizi however said pilgrims should accept some of the blame
for the initial mayhem.

He noted that some pilgrims who were already in possession of
visa declined to leave because they wanted to stay in one group.
Others insisted on going first although they did not have their
visas.

Yesterday in Yogyakarta, Muhammadiyah, an influential Moslem
organization, accepted the government's decision to keep the
number of Indonesian pilgrims within the Saudi quota.

A number of Moslem organizations and leaders had earlier
criticized the government, and Tarmizi in particular, for
accepting the quota without putting up a fight.

In a statement signed by chairman Amien Rais, Muhammadiyah
recognized the government's tireless effort to obtain an
additional allocation of 2,000 on top of the 195,000 quota.

The government secured the extra 2,000 quota, which will be
designated for officials, administrators and guides.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has already begun
counting the number of Indonesian pilgrim fatalities in Saudi
Arabia. By yesterday, it counted 12 deaths, most due to illnesses
carried from home.

Last year a total of 638 out of nearly 165,000 Indonesian
pilgrims died in Saudi Arabia by the end of the pilgrimage. (imn)