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)