T

he haj and umrah journeys taken by the world’s largest population of Muslims represent a huge industry for the government, which sends hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to the Middle East every year.

Corruption and poor management, however, have deteriorated services provided for pilgrims, triggering the House of Representatives to propose a law that will regulate the trips to the Islamic holy land.

Under the draft, there will be a separation between haj regulators and operators, both of which are currently under the jurisdiction of the Religious Affairs Ministry. The government will retain a regulatory position, while operational matters will be handled by an independent haj management body called mahkamah haji (haj council).

The House will soon deliver the draft of the haj and umrah management bill to the government, which will get 60 days to review it before deciding whether to agree to work on it with its legislative counterparts.

Chairman of Commission VII overseeing religious and social affairs, Saleh Partaonan Daulay, said that the deliberation with the government might see some hard debate as the government stands to lose control of haj organizing.

“The government may object to the idea, but I hope it will not take too long,” said the National Mandate Party (PAN) politician.

The haj council would consist of two agencies, a haj fund management (BPKH) and an organizing body (BPHI).

According to Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Ledia Hanifah Amalia, also Commission VIII member, the government was supposed to have established the BPKH last year, as it was mandated under Law No. 34/2014 on haj fund management, which was passed under former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration.

But so far, haj fund management is still in the hands of the government, which can open the door to an abuse of power.

Once it is established, the BPKH will deal with all matters related to haj operational funds.

“It’s crucial because the haj funds don’t belong to the state, but it’s money that people entrust to the state, thus requiring professional, transparent and accountable management. Therefore, it should be handled by an exclusive body,” Ledia said.

Meanwhile, the BPHI will handle the technical matters of haj organizing. The agency will have branches at provincial and city levels, and be responsible directly to the president.

Furthermore, the draft bill, under Article 5 Point D, defines haj pilgrims as those who have never gone on the haj before, or not within the last 10 years.

This aims to give more opportunity to those who have yet to go on the haj, as Saudi Arabia limits the quota for pilgrims from each country. This year, only 168,800 pilgrims are allowed to do the haj, according to Saudi restrictions.

“Currently, this regulation is only a ministerial decree. It will be better to make it a law to give it stronger legal basis,” Saleh said.

The draft, Saleh continued, will stipulate stricter sanctions against travel agents violating regulations by, for example, deceiving or neglecting pilgrims.
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