Tarmizi counters critics, says he has right facts

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher, who has come under fire for the way he is handling the haj pilgrimage problems, yesterday said he's got his facts right.

Tarmizi insisted that 14,000 would-be pilgrims are making their arrangements through unlicensed tour operators do exist and that they could fill Indonesia's haj quota, allocated by the government for pilgrims traveling on the officially sponsored program.

The minister met nine members of the House of Representatives (DPR) at his office last night to explain about the problem. The meeting was held behind closed doors but his office later issued a statement highlighting the points of his explanation.

There have been suggestions that 10,000 of these pilgrims will be leaving through Singapore and the rest from Indonesia. They are being called green passport pilgrims because they are traveling on ordinary green passports. The government issues special brown passports to its haj pilgrims.

Tarmiz insisted that he has evidence that 144 Indonesians are currently in Saudi jails either for overstaying or working illegally or intending to perform the pilgrimage, although he did not have the precise breakdown.

Saudi Ambassador Abdullah Abdulrahman Alim on Wednesday gave his word that the Saudi authorities have never, nor will ever, arrest any Indonesians who come to the Islamic Holy Land to perform the haj pilgrimage.

He also told reporters that the Saudi embassy was not aware that visas were issued to the 14,000 Indonesian pilgrims.

"I regret the remarks by Saudi Arabia Ambassador Abdullah Abdurrahman Alim about the 14,000 green passport pilgrims," Tarmizi said. "I fear that his ignorance about the 14,000 pilgrims could be exploited by unlicensed enterprising brokers to organize haj pilgrimage tours."

The minister said he has received reports from officials in Mecca and Medina that some green passport holders have began arriving there.

Given that Indonesia has been allocated a quota of 160,000 and that the pilgrims traveling on the government-sponsored program have virtually taken all of these up, the arrival of these green passport pilgrims could mean that some of the official pilgrims who are arriving late might be bumped off.

Their presence is also threatening the entire haj operation, said Tarmizi, who heads the government's coordinating team.

The minister has been put in the spotlight in the past few days for the way he is handling the problem, with some politicians even calling for his head.

Reacting after the Saudi envoy's denials, some legislators and Moslem leaders yesterday criticized Tarmizi for misleading the public and said he is blundering.

Sri Bintang Pamungkas from the United Development Party (PPP), Laksmiari Priyonggo from the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and Ahmad Sumargono from the Jakarta Corps of Proselytizers called for Tarmizi's resignation, justifying their demand on the ground that his "mistake" might damage the good relations which Indonesia has enjoyed with Saudi Arabia for decades.

"He should apologize, or resign," Bintang told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Tarmizi, however, was not without defense as several other Moslem leaders were quick to point out that the minister's handling of "illegal" pilgrims was based on his intention to create order in the officially-organized pilgrimage.

Over-reaction

Lukman Harun from Muhammadiyah, one of Indonesia's largest Moslem organizations, said the call for Tarmizi's resignation was groundless and an over-reaction. Hussein Umar from the Indonesian Council for Islamic Propagation (DDII) said that although Tarmizi's handling of the pilgrims was deplorable, the demands for his head is still inappropriate.

"Those legislators should come up with solutions to the problem, instead of making arbitrary demands," Lukman said. "They should have held a meeting with Tarmizi first, before making demands about something which I'm afraid they know little of."

Tarmizi's critics were more concerned at his suggestion that only brown passport pilgrims could perform the haj pilgrimage.

Laksmiari said Tarmizi's plan to check the flow of "illegal" pilgrims was a violation of a Koranic law which forbids people from banning Moslems from entering the sanctuaries of Allah.

"If Tarmizi is incapable of handling haj operations, he should resign," she said.

Despite the polarized opinions, however, both Tarmizi's critics and defenders agreed that chronic problems beset the government's pilgrimage tours every year.

High cost

One of the leading problems is the high cost of the officially organized pilgrimage.

Those who choose to go to Mecca with green passports do so because the trip costs them around Rp 3.5 to Rp 4 million compared to the officially organized tour which costs Rp 6.9 million.

A source at a private agency which sends green passport pilgrims told the Post that even at the considerably lower price the company nets a profit of some Rp 1 million from every pilgrim.

Bintang blamed complicated procedures and poor service as the cause for many people to choose "illegal" trips.

Lukman Harun, Sumargono and Hussein Umar called on the government to immediately take corrective measures, including establishing a bilateral agreement on the sending of haj pilgrims, and the kinds of passports and visas needed for the trip.

All of the observers also agreed that the government should learn from the incident and improve its service. (swe/par/emb)