Indonesia has urged the Kingdom to transfer the unused quota of Haj pilgrims by other countries to Indonesia to cut short its long waiting list. Many Indonesian citizens are waiting for nearly 27 years to perform Haj.

Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin said his countrymen have been waiting of over 25 years to take their turn for Haj. This is obviously adding to their problems related to age, illness and physical exhaustion.

As many as 126 Indonesians died during this year’s Haj season, higher compared to the previous year. Most of them were aged over 70 years with health problems.”

He added: “We have given priority to applicants of over 70 years during the recent Haj as they have been waiting for longer years to perform Haj.”

He stated that this year 168,000 Indonesian pilgrims preformed Haj and they started returning home from Thursday. He also added that most of these pilgrims hail from the East Java province.

Lukman said that 371 flights of Garuda, the national carrier of Indonesia, and Saudia are flying back the pilgrims to Indonesia.

The Indonesian minister described the Ministry of Haj’s electronic E-Haj as an effective system to manage Haj operations that are transparent and prompt.

He lauded the King Abdullah Expansion Project for Grand Mosque that is now accommodating more number of pilgrims than before as well as the infrastructure projects in Makkah. The train service at the holy sites has made pilgrims’ movement easy, he added.

In Indonesia, each prospective pilgrim is required to deposit about $ 2,500 for placing him or her on the waiting list. The Haj money at Indonesian banks totaled $914 million in 2013.

The Indonesian religious affairs ministry, which organizes the entire Haj program, including air transport, food and accommodation, has been under increased scrutiny after it got embroiled in a corruption case.

In May, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali resigned after being named a suspect in a case that, according to the Corruption Eradication Commission, revolves around the use of aspiring pilgrims’ deposit money to pay for Haj expenses.