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)