With the COVID-19 pandemic out of sight and Saudi Arabian authorities removing all health restrictions and the age cap for haj pilgrims, over 200,000 Indonesians were in Mecca on Thursday, celebrating the return of the pilgrimage season in full swing.

Among them were tens of thousands of elderly pilgrims, who have decided to bear Saudi Arabia’s scorching heat to take part in the pilgrimage, forcing the Indonesian government to anchor this year’s haj policies to the geriatrics.

Home to the world's largest Muslim population, the waiting list in Indonesia for prospective pilgrims is notoriously long, making it common for Indonesians to be in their sixties or seventies before they can finally embark on their trip to Saudi for haj.

This year’s pilgrimage saw some 67,000 Indonesians aged 65 and above participating, about 30 percent of the total 229,000 Indonesians pilgrims. The elderly group includes 6,000 people aged 80-90, data from the Religious Affairs Ministry show.

With the haj having a history of fires, a previous deadly stampede that killed as many as 2,500 worshippers in 2015 and with this year’s soaring heat, concerns have mounted that the pilgrimage poses serious or even fatal risks to the elderly.

As a result, the government has decided to put greater emphasis on this year’s haj policies and services for the geriatric group, particularly since this is the first year following the COVID-19 pandemic that Saudi has no longer imposed a 65-year-old age cap for pilgrims.

Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas first announced this year’s tagline of an "elderly-friendly haj" in March, and authorities have been preparing elderly-friendly policies since.