Jakarta –
Minister of Religion (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas met the Minister of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia, Tawfiq F Al Rabiah in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The two of them discussed preparations for the Hajj pilgrimage, including the additional quota Indonesian pilgrims.
The meeting of the two ministers took place on Sunday (12/3/2023). Also present accompanying the Minister of Religion Yaqut were the Director General of Hajj and Umrah Management Hilman Latief, Inspector General of the Ministry of Religion Faisal Ali Hasyim, the Indonesian Consul General in Jeddah Eko Hartono, as well as Special Staff for the Minister of Religion Wibowo Prasetyo and Ishfah Abidal Aziz. Also present were Ministry of Religion Spokesperson Anna Hasbie, Director of the Overseas Hajj Service Subhan Cholid, and Consul Hajj at the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah Nasrullah Jasam.
“Among the missions of my visit to Saudi Arabia were to directly check the development of service preparations and request an additional quota for Indonesian pilgrims and officers. We will discuss these two things with Minister Tawfiq in Jeddah,” Yaqut said in a written statement today.
“Thank God we got an additional quota of officers. Indonesia is also a priority for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to get an additional quota for pilgrims,” he continued.
Yaqut explained that the additional quota for officers would be focused on strengthening services for the elderly congregation. This is because, he said, of the 203,320 quota for the regular pilgrimage, there are more than 64 thousand pilgrims who are in the elderly category.
From the beginning, he was committed to giving attention to the elderly congregation. Because of that this year’s implementation carries the tagline Hajj Friendly for the Elderly.
Various service preparations, said Yaqut, are focused on efforts to provide the best for the congregation, including those who are elderly. Details are a concern, including the addition of women’s toilets at Arafah and Mina. This is because the majority of Indonesian pilgrims are women who need longer time to go to the toilet.
“There will be special recruitment to fill in the additional quota of officers, and this is focused on strengthening elderly services,” he stressed.
Regarding the additional quota for hajj pilgrims, Yaqut hopes that Minister Tawfiq can deliver it earlier. This is because preparation time is always needed in the process of filling the congregation quota, starting from preparing documents, passports, visas, and providing services.
“I ask that the additional congregation quota be submitted earlier, so that it can be maximally absorbed,” he said.
Another thing discussed by the two ministers is related to fast track services. This year, the fast track will be held again at Soekarno-Hatta Airport (Soetta) for pilgrims from DKI Jakarta, Banten, Lampung and parts of West Java.
The fast track service has been started since 2018. Through this service, the immigration process for pilgrims is carried out at the Indonesian airport. Thus, pilgrims do not need to have their passports and visas checked again when they arrive in Saudi Arabia.
“The number of pilgrims who will be served by the fast track facility this year is only 55,321 pilgrims. I conveyed this to Minister Tawfiq so that they can be added to other airports,” he said.
“Minister Tawfiq will consider adding this fast track service,” he added.
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