Ministry Asks Increase in Indonesian Hajj Officer to Saudi Arabia
- Kemenag
Jakarta – The Religion Minister, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas or Gus Yaqut will meet with the Saudi Arabian government a to discuss the number of hajj officers from Indonesia.
This is because the quota of prospective pilgrims from Indonesia has been given an additional 20 thousand by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The minister stated that hajj officers need to be added because the quota of hajj pilgrims has increased. He emphasized that the increase in the number of pilgrims must be a concern because it's not an easy job.
"The President has conveyed during a visit to Riyadh to meet Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Indonesia got an additional quota of 20 thousand. We have been with the House of Representatives, and this is not an easy job. The quota increases, but the officers decrease," the Minister said at the Ministry of Religion Office on Friday.
Therefore, the Minister will visit Saudi Arabia to discuss the number of hajj officers.
According to the Minister, the number of officers is very important considering that there are still many elderly pilgrims.
"It still the same as last year, namely service to the priority of elderly pilgrims. So there are approximately 30 percent of our total hajj pilgrims who are elderly," the Minister said.
If officers are reduced, it will reduce services to the elderly, he added.
Therefore, the Minister will ask the Government of Saudi Arabia to be given a proportional number of Indonesian officers.
"If the officers are reduced, I think the quality of service to the elderly will also be reduced due to the reduction of officers," Minister Gus Yaqut remarked.
"I will ask the officers given to Indonesia be proportional. So, we ask that the officers be added to be proportional," he concluded.
