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Haj price hike proposal faces opposition
The Religious Affairs Ministry’s plan to nearly double the administered price of the haj pilgrimage this year continues to divide opinion, even among government officials, as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) flags aspects of the state’s haj management as inefficient and lacking transparency.
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Muslim worshippers gather before the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca on July 2, 2022. (AFP/AFP)
Dio Suhenda
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The Religious Affairs Ministry’s plan to nearly double the administered price of the haj pilgrimage this year continues to divide opinion, even among government officials, as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) flags aspects of the state’s haj management as inefficient and lacking transparency.
Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy voiced his opposition on Sunday to the Religious Affairs Ministry’s recent proposal to increase this year's haj price to Rp 69 million (US$4,604.71) per pilgrim. He said the Rp 30 million increase from last year was too big a jump.
“An increase in the haj fee should be done gradually, in stages. It cannot be [too drastic]. The people will be surprised,” he told reporters on Sunday, as quoted by Kompas.id.
Earlier this month, Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said the proposed price hike would allow the government to conserve funds for future pilgrims by lowering subsidy spending. While the government covered some 60 percent of the true cost of the haj in 2022, it is looking to pay for only 30 percent this year.
The ministry has estimated that the state’s haj funds will run out in about eight years if the current subsidy level persists, a prediction that has caused Vice President Ma’ruf Amin to throw his support behind the proposed price hike.
