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Government looks to nearly double the price of this year's haj
The government’s plan to introduce a rise in the cost of haj for Indonesia's pilgrims this year has elicited a mixed response from observers, particularly since it surfaces at a time when Saudi authorities have instead lowered haj service prices.
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Pilgrims circle the Kaaba and pray at the Grand Mosque as Saudi Arabia welcomes back worshippers for the 2022 haj season, after the kingdom barred foreign travelers over the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on July 1, 2022. (Reuters/Mohammed Salem)
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he government’s plan to introduce a rise in the cost of haj for Indonesia’s pilgrims this year has elicited a mixed response from observers, particularly since it surfaces at a time when Saudi authorities have lowered haj service prices.
This year, Indonesia’s quota for pilgrims will return to its pre-pandemic size for the first time in three years since the global health crisis forced Saudi Arabia to ban or reduce the number of foreign pilgrims.
The government told a Thursday meeting with the House of Representatives about its proposal to increase the cost of this year's pilgrimage to Rp 69 million (US$4,604.71) per person – far higher than last year's Rp 39 million per person.
While lawmakers have yet to agree to the proposal, observers have been quick to voice their concern over the hefty price tag and suggested that the government should cut costs elsewhere in the program.
“We urge [the government] to review its accommodation costs in Mecca and in Medina, so that [this year’s haj travel] cost can be more reasonable,” Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) deputy head Anwar Abbas said on Saturday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Responding to the plan, Ahmad Fahrurrozi of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) central board said on Saturday that the government and lawmakers should form a team geared toward investigating how costs could be reduced.
“The Religious Affairs Ministry, the BPKH [Haj Fund Management Agency] and the House should form a team that will carefully calculate which [aspects] must absolutely be paid, and which ones can be cut," Fahrurrozi said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
