JEDDAH, 29 January 2004 — Confusion, bitter disappointment and litigation surround the cancellation of 30,000 ready-booked Haj trips for Indonesian pilgrims.
Eight non-governmental organizations have combined to lodge a complaint with the National Police against Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs, Said Agil Hussein Al-Munawwar, over alleged fraud relating to the management of the Haj transport.
On Sept. 20, Said Agil publicly stated that Saudi Arabia had approved Indonesia’s proposal for an additional quota of 30,000 pilgrims in 2004. The minister later issued a decree authorizing the additional quota on Sept. 26.
Farid Faqih, the director of Indonesian Government Watch (Gowa) — spearheading the complaint — said that the minister had collected money from prospective pilgrims and those included in the publicly announced extra quota, despite the fact that the government of Saudi Arabia had not agreed to it.
At least 29,974 more Muslims then registered and paid a total of some $81 million to fund their journeys. However the quota failed to materialize and anger against Said Agil has been mounting since the news broke.
“The truth is that there was a commitment from Saudi Arabia to allow only 204,000 pilgrims, and there was no such a thing as an additional quota. This contradicts Said Agil’s announcement,” said Public Interest Research and Advocacy Center (Pirac) executive director, Zaim Saidi.
“Said Agil has lied to the public, taken advantage of the public and received money from them,” he added.
The Indonesian government has a monopoly on the lucrative business of transporting pilgrims, who pay a fee that includes travel to and from their homes and all expenses when in Saudi Arabia.
To control the number of pilgrims, the Saudi government sets quotas allowing foreign countries to send 0.01 percent of their Muslim population each Haj season.
Those who thought they would travel to Makkah as part of the additional quota were angry and shocked. One candidate allegedly died after hearing he had missed his chance to become a Haji.
“From different embarkation points across Indonesia, some 200,000 Indonesians are on their way to Saudi Arabia while television images showed thousands still in shock for missing out, due to a last minute mistake by the Indonesian authorities that got their Haj cancelled,” said Rozdiza, whose parents are not going for the Haj due to the government mistake. He was speaking to IslamOnline.net.
“My mother got her visa but my father did not. Hence they have to cancel,” she said, adding that even though her parents were disappointed, they were happy too that others had the chance to go.
“It’s been my dream since I was a child to go on the Haj,” said actor Alex Komang, who was only told last week he would not be going despite paying more than $4,500 for a ticket.
“Along with thousands of others, I have become a victim.”
Meanwhile, 91 Indonesians have died of natural causes after arriving in the Kingdom to perform Haj. Most of the pilgrims died in Madinah and the rest in Makkah and Jeddah, according to Antara news agency. Some 205,000 Indonesians making the journey for this year’s Haj, which starts tomorrow.
