"We are not misusing it (the additional quota), and will continue exerting our best to carry out this mandate,"
Medina (ANTARA) - Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas affirmed that the government is not misusing the additional quota for Indonesian pilgrims in the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage season.

"In principle, there is no misuse of the additional quota," he remarked in Medina, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday (June 22).

He made the statement in response to the criticism about the management of the Hajj additional quota conveyed by the Hajj Monitoring Team of the House of Representatives (DPR).

Initially, Indonesia was allocated a Hajj pilgrim quota of 221 thousand for this year's Hajj season. President Joko Widodo then secured an additional quota of 20 thousand during a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabian Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud in October last year.

"We are not misusing it (the additional quota), and will continue exerting our best to carry out this mandate," Qoumas reiterated.

He then said that the peak of the 2024 Hajj worship went smoothly, noting that the recurrence of the overcrowding of pilgrims in Muzdalifah last year has been successfully anticipated and prevented.

"Thank God, the peak of Hajj worship that involves rituals in Arafah, Muzdalifah, and Mina went in a proper and smooth manner," he pointed out.

The minister attributed the smooth-running of all the rituals to the use of Nusuk smart cards and implementation of the murur scheme, under which some pilgrims were allowed to head straight from Arafah to Mina without having to disembark buses in Muzdalifah.

The scheme is dedicated to elderly pilgrims, pilgrims susceptible to health issues, and pilgrims with disabilities.

"I think the keys to this success are Nusuk and murur," he said.

Earlier, on Wednesday (June 19), Qoumas announced that Indonesia had once again obtained a Hajj pilgrim quota of 221 thousand for the next Hajj season.

He said Hajj quotas for pilgrims around the world were announced by the Saudi Arabian government during a gathering that marked the end of the holding of this year's Hajj pilgrimage.


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Translator: Asep F, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Arie Novarina
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