Jakarta, March 30 (Antara) - The Indonesian government has committed to improving its Hajj pilgrimage services in the face of the increase in the country's Hajj quota from last year's 168,800 to 221 thousand in 2017.
In order to improve the Hajj services, the government has slightly increased the Hajj pilgrimage cost by Rp249,008, or about 0.72 percent of last year's Rp34,641,304 to Rp34,890,312 this year.
"After the government and House of Representatives agreed on the rate of the Hajj pilgrimage management cost (BPIH) for this year, we submitted its draft for a presidential decision on Monday (Mar 27) to be signed by the head of state. We hope that the president would soon issue a decision, so that would-be Hajj pilgrims would pay off their Hajj pilgrimage cost soon," Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin was quoted as saying by the Ministry of Religious Affairs on its website on Wednesday (Mar 29).
The minister has promised to improve Hajj services in line with the increase in BPIH.
The improvements in the services include increasing the number of meals to 43 comprising 25 in Mecca and 18 in Medina in addition to breakfast in Mecca.
Bus transportation services will be improved by using new fleet that will carry pilgrims from the Medina airport to their hotels and vice versa, inter-city services, and departure to the Arafah and Mina fields.
The Hajj organizers will also increase and upgrade the quality of tents in the Arafah field, including air-conditioned facilities. The length of stay in Saudi Arabia is 41 days.
The 2017 Hajj pilgrimage services will be based on the quality of services, security, and the protection of pilgrims.
Minister Saifuddin said his side is currently awaiting the issuance of the presidential decision on BPIH. Thus, prospective Hajj pilgrims who get their turn to leave for the Holy Land would be able to repay the balance of their pilgrimage cost.
"Preparations for the implementation of the Hajj pilgrimage are now running smoothly," Saifuddin remarked in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on Monday.
According to the minister, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is expected to issue a Presidential Decree on the 2017 hajj pilgrimage management cost in the near future.
Saifuddin further remarked that would-be pilgrims can deposit the rest of their Hajj fees at the designated banks across the country. "Later, after the Presidential decree is issued, pilgrims can immediately clear off the balance of payment at the nearest designated banks," he noted.
On Thursday last week (March 23), the DPR said it had agreed with the draft hajj pilgrimage cost 2017 at an average of Rp34,890,312.
"We have agreed to the component of direct cost of hajj pilgrimage in 1438 Hijriyah/2017 at Rp34,890,312," Chief of the House Commission VIII Ali Taher said in Jakarta on Thursday.
The direct cost refers to the amount of money each Indonesian hajj pilgrim will pay during this year's hajj pilgrimage. The BPIH 2017 increased compared to BPIH 2016 set at an average of Rp34,641,304.
Ali said the BPIH 2017 rose due to many factors, including the regular hajj quota which increased 31.4 percent to 204,000 hajj pilgrims from 155,200 hajj pilgrims a year earlier.
The DPR and the government also agreed to a basic policy to organize hajj pilgrimage in 2017. The policy covers the adoption of operational currency and the equalization of exchange rate, he said.
The House Commission VIII also agreed to the proposal to pay flight cost and domestic transactions in rupiah and hajj pilgrimage operating cost in Saudi Arabia in riyals.
He said riyal's exchange rate against the rupiah is set at Rp3,570 during the hajj pilgrimage.
According to Minister Saifuddin, the meeting with the House Commission VIII on Friday (March 24) discussed several issues. Therefore, the BPIH 2017 could be set on Friday as scheduled.
The BPIH 2017 was calculated accurately by, among others, taking into account the fluctuation of aviation turbine (avtur/aircraft) fuel prices, he noted.
In the meantime, the increase in the hajj pilgrimage cost is also expected to help improve the services for pilgrims in line with the increase in the number of hajj quota this year.
Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its agreement to increase the quota during the visit of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud in Jakarta early this month.
The Saudi government agreed to restore Indonesia's Hajj quota from 168,800 to 211 thousand and provided an additional quota of 10 thousand for the 2017 pilgrimage season.
Hence, for this year's season, Indonesia will have a total quota of 221 thousand. However, no further information is yet available on whether the quota of 221 thousand will also be extended to Indonesia for the coming years.
The Saudi government had imposed a reduction of 20 percent in the Hajj quota of all countries in 2013 to facilitate the expansion project of the Masjidil Haram Mosque. After four years and the completion of the mosque's expansion project, the Saudi government has restored the previous quotas of all countries.
Last January, President Joko Widodo stated that the Saudi government had decided to restore Indonesia's Hajj quota from 168,800 to 211 thousand in 2017. Besides this, the Saudi government has also agreed to the Indonesian request for an additional quota of 10 thousand. Thus, the Hajj quota for Indonesia in 2017 will reach 221 thousand.
(A014/INE)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 30-03-2017 15:06: |
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