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View all search resultsYaqut submits to second KPK grilling in haj quota probe
The KPK has questioned the former religious affairs minister for a second time as a witness in the ongoing probe into alleged graft in the allocation of the 2024 haj quota, which it says prevented 8,400 regular pilgrims from completing the haj and incurred an estimated Rp 1 trillion in state losses.
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Yaqut Cholil Qoumas (center, in white shirt) leaves the South Jakarta headquarters of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Sept. 1, 2025, following his second interrogation as a witness in an ongoing probe into alleged misallocation of the haj quota in 2024, when he was religious affairs minister. (Antara/Fauzan)
T
he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) questioned on Monday Yaqut Cholil Qoumas for a second time as a witness in an investigation into alleged misallocation of the haj quota last year, when he was religious affairs minister in the cabinet of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the second interrogation would “shed light on the case”, as the investigators are currently gathering more evidence.
The former minister was questioned for more than six hours at the antigraft body’s South Jakarta headquarters.
On leaving the building, Yaqut told reporters that KPK investigators had asked him to “elaborate on previous testimony” provided during his first questioning last month, Antara reported. He declined to reveal any other details.
The KPK started its investigation in June into suspected corruption in the distribution of 20,000 additional spots that Saudi Arabia had granted to Indonesia for the 2024 haj season.
The probe centers on the ministry’s decision to divide the extra quota equally between the regular and special haj programs, even though the prevailing law limits the special program to 8 percent of the country’s annual quota.
Potential pilgrims can wait up to 30 years to join the subsidized regular haj program amid high demand in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. The special program, which has a higher price tag and is managed by travel agencies, offers a shorter waiting time.
