Govt hajj service good, according to survey

Most Indonesians who performed the hajj pilgrimage last year said they were satisfied with the government's hajj service, a survey conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) revealed.

The BPS announced on Monday that the pilgrims’ approval rating for the hajj service reached 81.45 percent. The hospitality of the field officers gained the highest rate of approval from the 4,200 respondents, while the food service gained the lowest approval.

“Hospitality services garnered 88.88 percent satisfaction,” BPS head Rusman Heriawan said. “The respondents said that the hajj officers had shown good a attitude and had been responsive to the respondents’ needs.”

However, the respondents said that transportation and catering had been disappointing. “The satisfaction level for the food service was only 73.39 percent, the lowest of all the categories. Most of the respondents complained about the low food quality they received,” he said.

“The respondents also complained that the housing complex was too far from the hajj sites,” he added.

Rusman said he hoped that the survey would improve the government’s services for the upcoming hajj.

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said the government would provide better services for this year’s hajj.

“We will send more kitchen maids. We will also provide housing centers near the important sites,” he said. (lfr)