"There are parties who are willing to earn money from hajj pilgrimage management. They will continue to attack (present) hajj pilgrimage management system until it is privatized and they will take part," Hasyim said here on Tuesday.
He said that there was no guarantee that the management of hajj pilgrimage would become better if it was given to the private sector to organize.
"It will become chaos if it is given to the private sector such as when it was handled by PT Arofat and Ya Mualim," Hasyim who happened to become hajj pilgrimage deputy leader for two times, said.
Hasyim who is also secretary general of International Conference of Islamic Scholars (ICIS), said that privatizing hajj pilgrimage management would need a big capital and invite investors, including foreign investors.
He said that hajj pilgrimage was a ritual practice so that it should be organized by a party which really understood the implementation of hajj practices.
Yet, the former NU leader admitted that the ministry of religious affairs, like other government agencies, had weaknesses in organizing the hajj pilgrimage services.
"What is important now is how to provide assistance for religious affairs ministry so that it would be optimal in organizing hajj pilgrimage," Hasyim said.
He said things that needed to be improved not only hajj facilities but also the way how to organize pilgrims so that they would be able to increase the quality of their rituals where in them there were values that could improve the nation`s characters.
Many quarters, including legislators have raised the idea to set up a special body to manage hajj pilgrimage, not by the ministry of foreign affairs.
(SYS/A014/F001)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
