Tarmizi admits hopes slim for a larger haj quota
Tarmizi admits hopes slim for a larger haj quota
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher conceded yesterday that there is little chance that 36,000 Indonesians put on a waiting list to go on the haj pilgrimage will be able to go.
He pleaded for understanding from those who might have to postpone their trip to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, this year.
Tarmizi told reporters after meeting President Soeharto at the Bina Graha presidential office that the government has requested a higher haj quota from the Saudi kingdom, but as of yesterday no response has been received.
He said that Riyadh has received requests for quota increases from other countries and has granted none.
Tarmizi was reporting to Soeharto about his recent mission to Riyadh to try to accommodate all 230,000 Indonesians who have applied to join the haj pilgrimage this year.
He said he met with the Saudi minister for haj affairs on two occasions during his visit to Riyadh on Feb. 18-22.
The Saudi government agreed to review the Indonesian quota, from the original 192,000 to 195,000, in line with the increase of Indonesia's population from 192 million to 195 million, he said.
"Should there be prospective pilgrims who can't go on haj this year, I hope they will understand that the government has done its best," Tarmizi said. "We hope they will be patient."
Indonesia will wait until April 6 for Saudi's decision, which is when the first batch of pilgrims leave for the Holy Land, he said.
Some 240,000 Indonesians originally applied to join the pilgrimage this year, a big jump from 165,000 last year.
The government, caught completely by surprise, announced that those who paid their Rp 7 million ($3,200) fares late were put on the waiting list. Subsequently, 10,000 people withdrew their applications, but this still left 36,000 on the list.
"The government and the Ulema Council appreciate the decision of the 10,000 who canceled their plans to go on the pilgrimage this year," Tarmizi said.
The minister, who was accompanied by the Ulema Council's chairman, Hasan Basri, said Saudi's decision on whether or not to grant Indonesia's, as well as other countries, request depended on many factors, particularly the total number of pilgrims this year.
Last year's total number of haj pilgrims reached three million.
Tarmizi explained that Saudi's cautious stance, regarding requests for quota increases, is due to its wish that the rites of haj proceed more safely and orderly than previous years.
Riyadh wants to avoid a repetition of accidents that in previous years were caused by the too large a number of pilgrims.
Tarmizi said the Saudi government has taken him on tours of the sites where stampedes occurred last year and in 1990. Some 560 Indonesian pilgrims died in the first stampede.
"The Saudi government only wants to reduce the risks of accidents due to the crowd. This is the reason why no country has had its request granted," Tarmizi said.
The local authorities, he said, have demolished hundreds of houses to make more room for more pilgrims. However, even with this improvement, the risk is still great if the Saudi Arabia does not impose quotas on participating countries.
Tarmizi used the occasion yesterday to call again on would-be pilgrims who are not making their first trip to Mecca to reconsider their application and make way for first timers.
He underlined that the Ulema Council recently issued a fatwa (religious edict) to remind Moslems that Islam mandates Moslems to go on the haj pilgrimage only once in their lifetime.
Tarmizi said the government will increase the campaign to convince people to go on umrah (minor pilgrimage), which can be conducted at any time of the year, as a way to anticipate explosions in the number of pilgrims in the coming years. "It's possible that next year we'll have 300,000 prospective pilgrims unless we take some measures to handle the problem," he said.
Hasan Basri mentioned to the press he met with President Soeharto to ask him to open the ulema council's congress in July in Jakarta. (swe)