The vice president believed that many Indonesian would-be hajj pilgrims had to wait 12 years before they could leave for Mecca and Medina for the hajj pilgrimage.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Vice President Boediono has urged Indonesian diplomats dealing with hajj pilgrimage affairs in Saudi Arabia to strive for an increase in the hajj pilgrimage quota for Indonesia which for this year has been set at 211,000 people.

"We should strive to have the quota raised because many of the country`s Muslims haven`t yet enjoyed the opportunity to conduct the hajj pilgrimage, and have to wait for many years," Boediono said in Medina, according to a press release issued by the vice presidential office here on Friday.

The vice president believed that many Indonesian would-be hajj pilgrims had to wait 12 years before they could leave for Mecca and Medina for the hajj pilgrimage.

"It`s a very long time to wait. We should be more active to get an increase in our quota," the vice president said.

In addition, another important point was he need to improve the management of hajj pilgrim departures, Boediono said, adding that priority should be given to people who had never been on the hajj pilgrimage before.

Out of this year`s 211,000 hajj pilgrims quota, some 17,000 will be allocated for special facilities of hajj implementation, in which 215 special hajj organizing enterprises will handle the 17,000 special hajj facilities.

Until June 7, 2011, some 1,420,915 people had been listed as planning to perform the hajj pilgrimage this year.

The vice president visited the Indonesian Hajj Pilgrimage Affairs Office in Medina, Saudi Arabia, after attending the seventh World Islamic Economic Forum in Kazakhstan.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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