Saudi Arabia’s decision to temporarily halt all umrah (minor haj) amid fears of a coronavirus outbreak shocked hundreds of Indonesian pilgrims who were left in uncertainty at airports and forced to cancel their journeys on
Thursday.

Among the pilgrims was Suyato, 59, from Tangerang, Banten, who told The Jakarta Post in tears that he had only learned about the ban upon his arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at midday on Thursday.

Suyato, his wife Mujirah and his umrah group of 33 other pilgrims were initially scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia at 1:30 p.m., only to be told by his travel agent that the trip would be canceled.

"It would've been my first time performing umrah. I've been waiting for three years, but I also understand that this measure has to be taken because of the virus. I hope my trip can be rescheduled soon," Suyato said, while waiting for his children to pick him up at the airport.

Another pilgrim from Gresik, East Java, Zakaria, 57, also had no other choice but to leave the airport with her group of 36 pilgrims, who came from various cities across the country. She expected her pilgrimage, which would have been her first time visiting the holiest sites of Islam, would be rescheduled as she would still be on the waiting list for the haj until 2024.

"I'll have to return to Gresik now. I bought a return ticket for March 6, but what about now? Do I have to spend more money?" she told the Post as she made her way out of the airport.

 Indonesian pilgrims who had landed at Abu Dhabi International Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were in an even more difficult position. Some 83 pilgrims were expected to fly back to Jakarta on Friday midnight, according to Indonesian Ambassador to the UAE Nur Ibrahim.

The pilgrims had left Jakarta and arrived on a stopover in Abu Dhabi at 12:25 a.m. on Thursday on their way to Madinah in Saudi Arabia.

As a result of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, which has affected Saudi nationals in Bahrain and Kuwait, the Saudi government imposed the suspension of umrah and visits to the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah as one of several precautionary restrictions.

The Saudi Haj and Umrah Ministry has also temporarily halted the issuance of umrah visas and suspended entry to tourist-visa holders from “countries with confirmed coronavirus outbreaks, according to criteria established by the Saudi health authorities".

Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, contributed the second-highest number of umrah pilgrims last year with 443,879 arrivals, according to data from the Saudi Haj and Umrah Ministry. Saudi Arabia welcomes nearly 7 million umrah pilgrims every year.

While the temporary ban on Indonesian pilgrims is unprecedented, Saudi Arabia previously imposed a similar policy on several countries over Ebola fears.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has conveyed his respect for the Saudi government’s decision to impose the restrictions, saying that it demonstrated the country’s swift action in protecting its citizens from the new virus.

Indonesian officials, however, were still in the process of lobbying the kingdom to exclude visa-holding Indonesians from the temporary ban, which immediately took effect upon its announcement.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said she had met with the Saudi ambassador to Indonesia to lobby on behalf of Indonesian pilgrims already flying to and arriving in the country at the time of the announcement to be allowed to perform umrah.

"We’ve suggested that those already arriving [in the country] be allowed to perform umrah, perhaps with a health evaluation. However, we haven't heard back [...] because, again, if the country gives Indonesia that treatment then it'll have to treat other countries the same way too," Retno said at the State Palace on Thursday.

The minister added that she had also raised the issue of Indonesia being categorized as one of the countries that Saudi Arabia had suspended tourism visas for during the meeting, arguing that Indonesia had not confirmed any cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Retno gave an assurance that all Indonesian envoys in the Middle East were on stand-by and that from the latter's reports, pilgrims already in the country before the ban could still continue their activities as normal.

The Religious Affairs Ministry issued a statement calling on all travel agencies to temporarily halt sending pilgrims until Saudi Arabia lifts the ban. The ministry said that it was planning to meet with all travel agency associations and airlines to find a solution to the issue.

Association of Indonesia Haj and Umrah Organizations secretary-general Firman M. Nur acknowledged the underlying good sense of the ban but admitted it had caused travel agencies major losses.

A similar concern was raised by Sumatra Muslim Travel Association director Zainuddin who said that estimated losses from the ban could amount to billions of rupiah. (dfr/glh)

— Apriadi Gunawan, Arya Dipa and Asip Hasani contributed to this story from Medan, Bandung and Blitar.

Popular

Stocks in Asia rise, yen wobbles after volatile start to week

In Numbers: How women fare in Indonesia

Indonesia may offer dual citizenship to attract overseas workers, minister says