EFFORTS UNDERWAY TO IMPROVE HAJJ PILGRIMAGE SERVICES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, June 15 (Antara) - Some three months before the D-Day of this year's Hajj pilgrimage season in September, the Indonesian government is now streamlining its services for the departure of 168,800 would-be Hajj pilgrims to the Holy Land.          President Joko Widodo has also promised to hold a special meeting to discuss matters related to organizing the Hajj pilgrimage. The president made the statement while receiving a delegation of the Hajj Supervisory Commission (KPHI) in Jakarta on Tuesday.          According to KPHI Chairman Samidin Nashir, the president responded positively to his Commission's recommendations and vowed to hold a special meeting to discuss matters relating to the Hajj pilgrimage program.         "The KPHI has made recommendations on the improvements in Hajj services," Nashir stated.          The government is also holding a training course for officials, who will be assigned to provide Hajj services. The course was inaugurated on Tuesday by Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin.           He called on the course participants to improve their professionalism and maintain composure while providing services to the pilgrims.           "Do your job professionally with responsibility. Make sure you are able to have good control over your emotions while carrying out your tasks," the minister remarked while opening the training course for Hajj officials for the 2016 Hajj pilgrimage season at the Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory in East Jakarta on Tuesday.           The minister affirmed that Hajj officials would face various on-field problems that will necessitate professionalism and good self-control.          He mentioned the weather forecast indicated a severe heat wave that will prevail during this year's pilgrimage season. As there are several Hajj pilgrims with high health risks, the Hajj officials should pay attention to this matter.         The minister underscored the important roles of Hajj officials in increasing the satisfaction index of Hajj pilgrims over the services offered by the government.         "Based on the survey results of the Central Bureau of Statistics, the satisfaction index of the Hajj pilgrims in 2014 had reached 81.59 percent. It rose to 82.69 percent in 2015," Minister Saifuddin told 826 course participants, who would be in charge of providing services to Hajj pilgrims this year.          He pointed out that the Hajj officials were basically people who were given an assignment by the state. He said the officials are lucky to have been given the opportunity to increase their knowledge while coordinating thousands of Hajj pilgrims. They will get new experiences and opportunities to go on a Hajj pilgrimage while providing services to the pilgrims.           In the meantime, the KPHI has also put forth several recommendations for improving the quality of Hajj pilgrimage services. KPHI Chairman Saidin Nashir, in the company of 13 other executives of the commission, met the president who was accompanied by Minister/State Secretary Pratikno at the Merdeka Palace to convey the recommendations on Tuesday.          "The KPHI has reached two main conclusions regarding its recommendations that suggest improvements. One concerns the need to reform the implementation of the Hajj pilgrimage program," Nashir stated.          The second conclusion was to improve the institution by establishing a secretariat and increasing the number of its human resources.           After receiving the report from the KPHI, the president responded positively and vowed to hold a special meeting to discuss it.           Samidin affirmed that several other issues for the implementation of the 2016 Hajj pilgrimage program were raised, such as the supervision of the organization, officials, administration, finance, implementation of Hajj guidance, accommodation, transportation, consumption, and health services.          The KPHI also recommended increasing the protection offered to pilgrims, including those on pilgrimage under special and minor Hajj programs.          It also called for the involvement of police and military personnel in ensuring security in the implementation of the Hajj pilgrimage program. The number of personnel should be increased.          "The roles of the police and military are very important. We, from the KPHI, suggested that the number of personnel from the National Police (Polri) and the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) should be increased by at least two folds. We suggest that the number should be increased from 52 last year to 109 this year," Samidin emphasized.          This is intended to prevent Indonesian Hajj pilgrims from going missing during their ritual services. The KPHI did not register any missing Indonesian Hajj pilgrims in 2015, but in 2014, an Indonesian Hajj pilgrim had reportedly gone missing, and until now, the individual has not yet been found.          This year, the government will send some 168,800 would-be Hajj pilgrims to the Holy Land, Saudi Arabia, to perform the Hajj rituals. They will be assisted by 826 Hajj officials deployed across Mecca, Medina, and Jidda. Among the Hajj officials, some 300 are medical workers.           Secretary General of the Health Ministry Untung Suseno Sutarjo claimed that some 57 thousand Indonesian Hajj pilgrims were categorized as having high health risks that required attention.          Therefore, he affirmed that the government had changed its service system by providing guidance since the beginning.           "Thus, the government is no longer only providing treatment but also implementing preventive measures," Sutarjo pointed out.           The government has set the schedule for the departure of the first batch of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims this year on August 9, 2016, and the last batch on September 5, 2016. (A014/INE/O001)EDITED BY INET.A014/A/BESSR/O. Tamindael) 15-06-2016 13:15:5