outh Sulawesi Religious Affairs Agency head Abdul Wahid Tahir said on Tuesday travel agents used by Indonesian pilgrims to go on the haj via Manila were illegal as they were not registered at the Religious Affairs Ministry.
He was responding to circulating news reports, which revealed around 50 percent of 177 Indonesians currently detained by Philippine authorities for using fake documents were from South Sulawesi.
Wahid said around 100 travel agents were currently operating in South Sulawesi, but only 46 of them were registered as official haj travel agents at the Religious Affairs Ministry.
The number of registered haj pilgrims in South Sulawesi have reached more than 169,000, resulting in a lengthy waiting list of between 17 to 40 years.
Middlemen coming from the Philippines had also played roles in facilitating the pilgrims to go on the haj via their country.
(Read also : Short waiting list lures Indonesians to go on haj via Philippines)
Mahmud, 54, a resident of Barru, South Sulawesi, said a broker who identified himself as Syekh Rasyidi had come to the regency, directly offering assistance for any resident who wanted to go on the haj via the Philippines. Requirements set for the haj departure were also not complicated.
“He just asked each applicant to give a copy of their resident ID card and two photos. Each pilgrim should pay a haj fee ranging between Rp 110 million [US$8,301] to Rp 130 million. He said each pilgrim could give him a down-payment of Rp 50 million first and pay the rest after she or he arrived in the Philippines,” said Mahmud. (ebf)
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