"Our hajj quota remains the same as last year. However, we are still trying that Saudi Arabia increases it by 10 thousand for this year," Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin said.Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government is seeking to lobby with the Saudi authorities to have its hajj quota increased by 10 thousand people, Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin said.
"Our hajj quota remains the same as last year. However, we are still trying that Saudi Arabia increases it by 10 thousand for this year," he explained while opening a working meeting of the South Kalimantan provincial office of the Religious Affairs Ministry at Rattan Inn Hotel here on Wednesday.
Indonesias hajj quota for this year stands at 168,800 people.
"If we get an additional hajj quota, it will be distributed professionally," the minister promised.
As Muslims in South Kalimantan have a more keen interest in performing hajj pilgrimage, they have to wait for tens of years, he stated.
"We have a lot of sympathy with them. But they all must be patient while the government tries to have the quota increased before the advent of the hajj season this year," he urged the gathering.
Head of the South Kalimantan Provincial Office of the Religious Affairs Ministry H Muhammad Tambrin said the province with a Muslim population of 96.67 percent, is allowed to send 3,050 people to the Holy Land for hajj pilgrimage this year.
As of April 18, 2016, the number of Muslims in South Kalimantan who have deposited their money to undertake the hajj in Mecca has reached 86,749, he said.
Judging by the quota, the waiting period for Muslims in South Kalimantan planning to go for hajj to Mecca is 28 years, he said. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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