"Thank God, last night I welcome the arrival of Hajj officers. This afternoon I also return to Cengkareng to greet the officers. I give utmost appreciation to them," Minister Qoumas remarked.
Hajj operations in Mecca have been completed. The officers of the Mecca Working Area flew back to the country in two batches.
On the first batch, as many as 237 officers arrived on August 6, 2022, at 11 pm local time. The second batch comprising 271 officers arrived on afternoon at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Cengkareng.
Hajj officers were the first ones to serve the pilgrims, the minister added.
"From the beginning, I advised to serve the pilgrims as if they were our parents, our brothers, and sisters. And it turns out that the hajj officers thoroughly offer service in a professional manner," he added.
Religious Affairs Minister expected that the Hajj officers would remain healthy, return home safely, and be able to happily gather again with their respective families.
"Hopefully, the hajj officers who also participated in the hajj pilgrimage on the sidelines of duty get a mabrur (blessed) hajj. Once again, I express my appreciation and high appreciation to the hajj officers," he said.
Related news: Return of first Hajj pilgrim batch to be complete on Saturday
He also expressed his gratitude to media friends who were members of the Haji Media Center (MCH) team. The journalists reported of the Hajj event with disciplined manner.
"Thanks to the media, information and hajj policies are well disseminated to pilgrims," he remarked.
Thanks to the media, family members in the country could follow up the strings of events from Indonesia, he said.
"This is part of our commitment to pursue the transparency of information in the management of the Hajj," he said.
While the Minister was welcoming the two batches of officers from the Mecca Working Area, he was accompanied by the Secretary General of the Religious Affairs Minister Nizar, the Director General of Hajj and Umrah Implementation Hilman Latief and his staff, as well as the special staff and experts of the Religious Affairs Ministry.
Directors of Garuda Indonesia were also present this Sunday to welcome the hajj officers returning home.
Hajj operations were now focused on Medina. The pilgrims who departed in the second batch were completing the Arbain prayer (obligatory prayers in congregation for 40 times at the Nabawi Mosque).
Since July 30, 2022, they were then sent home in batches from Medina. The process of flying the pilgrims back home from Medina would be conducted until August 13, 2022.
Related news: All returning Hajj pilgrims to undergo health screening: Ministry
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
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