"Please prove the allegation," the ministry's Hajj and Umrah Director General, Hilman Latief, stated in Jakarta on Monday in response to the House's special inquiry committee's allegation.
Earlier, Luluk Nur Hamidah, a member of the House's special inquiry committee, claimed to have found evidence of corruption at the ministry over the shifting of the regular Hajj quota to a special quota.
During this year's Hajj season, Indonesia secured a quota of 241 thousand Hajj pilgrims through an agreement reached with the Saudi government on January 8, 2024.
The overall count included 221 thousand individuals undertaking the pilgrimage under the initial quota and an additional 20 thousand pilgrims approved by the King of Saudi Arabia.
According to Latief, the Religious Affairs Ministry could not decide on the division of quota if the Saudi Hajj and Umrah Ministry did not provide a formulation as stipulated in an official document.
In response to Hamidah's allegation, he said that the special Hajj quota, obtained from the additional Hajj quota, was the Saudi Arabian government's provision.
The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and the Indonesian Religious Affairs Ministry had also conducted a simulation of potential Hajj pilgrim crowds in Mina, Latief said.
He pointed out that the simulation result had shown that the crowds in Mina, a valley located about eight kilometers from Mecca and known as the city of tents, had been unavoidable, including in an area for Indonesian Hajj pilgrims.
Latief said his ministry is ready to bring all documents and data needed by the House's special inquiry committee members when their inquiry hearing commences.
The DPR approved the formation of the special inquiry committee at a plenary session on Tuesday, July 9, 2024.
The inquiry committee will comprise 27 members representing various factions of the DPR, including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), Golkar Party, Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, NasDem Party, Democratic Party, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), National Mandate Party (PAN), and United Development Party (PPP).
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Translator: Asep F, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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