The government must not further escalate the level of public disappointment by utilizing the Haj pilgrims' funds for other requirements, including a discourse on their use for Bank Indonesia's foreign exchange interventionJakarta (ANTARA) - Hajj Fund Management Agency (BPKH) Head Anggito Abimanyu clarified that the government did not cancel Hajj 2020 for Indonesians to Mecca based on his May-26 statement on Hajj fund utilization for strengthening rupiah's exchange rate.
"There is no connection between the cancellation of our Haj pilgrims' departure for this year's Hajj pilgrimage season and the Haj funds of US$600 million," he noted in a press statement that ANTARA received in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Abimanyu expounded that the scheme to strengthen the rupiah exchange rate by utilizing Haj funds in the event of cancellation of this year's departure of Hajj pilgrims was his expression of "halal bihalal" at a virtual post-Idul Fitri gathering with the Bank Indonesia governor and his deputies.
The BPKH head obviously denied an assumption that his statement on the scheme to strengthen the rupiah exchange rate by utilizing the Haj funds was the reason behind the government cancelling the departure of Indonesian pilgrims to Mecca during this year's Hajj season.
Apart from Abimanyu's explanation, Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Syarief Hasan expressed disagreement to a discourse to divert the Indonesian Hajj funds, totaling Rp8.7 trillion, for the purpose of foreign exchange intervention.
"The government must not further escalate the level of public disappointment by utilizing the Haj pilgrims' funds for other requirements, including a discourse on their use for Bank Indonesia's foreign exchange intervention," he had remarked earlier.
Hasan stated that the central bank must use its dollar reserve, projected to reach US$127.9 billion, instead of the Hajj pilgrims' funds, for intervening in the foreign exchange market to strengthen the rupiah value against the US dollar.
Hasan expressed his views on the discourse to use the Indonesian Haj pilgrims' funds for the central bank's foreign exchange intervention following the Indonesian Government's decision to cancel the departure of Indonesia's Hajj pilgrims this year.
Hasan fully understood that the government's decision had led to disappointment among several Indonesians eligible for departing for Mecca for this year's Hajj pilgrimage season since they had saved up for it since long.
Several pilgrims had also saved money for tens of years, but owing to the novel coronavirus disease pandemic that severely impacted several countries, including Saudi Arabia, they failed to perform Hajj pilgrimage this year, he pointed out.
Hence, the government must not further escalate the level of public disappointment with the discourse on utilizing their Hajj funds for the central bank's foreign exchange intervention for strengthening the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar, Hasan remarked.
The Indonesian government has officially announced its decision to not send Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi announced the government’s decision at a virtual press conference on Haj pilgrimage on Tuesday.
The hajj pilgrimage stands cancelled in accordance with Religious Affairs Minister Regulation No. 494 of 2020, as the safety and health of pilgrims must be prioritized, right from their departure to during the course of the pilgrimage and upon their return to the country.
The decision was taken on the basis of a comprehensive study conducted by a team of the ministry and after consultation with the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).
Related news: Indonesia's Hajj funds are not for foreign exchange intervention: MPR
Related news: Indonesia announces cancellation of Hajj pilgrimage 2020 amid COVID-19
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Translator: Anom P, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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