Jakarta, NU Online
The government is demanding that Saudi Arabia pay compensation for the loss that will be incurred through the Saudis’ decision to slash the quota for Indonesian haj pilgrims by 20 percent from the registered 211,000 pilgrims this year to 168,800.<>

Spokesman for the Religious Affairs Ministry Zubaidi said over the weekend that the quota reduction could cause losses as down payments had been made on most accommodations and catering in Saudi Arabia for the next haj season, which starts in September.

The government has paid more than Rp 680 billion (US$68.51 million) for both regular and special haj packages, Zubaidi was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying.

Officials have departed for Saudi Arabia to negotiate ways to avoid the possible losses.

“We are still working to find the best solution to compensate the loss. Tonight, the delegations from the haj affairs department at ministry are headed for Saudi Arabia to negotiate with the local businesses which provide accommodation and food for pilgrims so that they can return money we have paid for would-be pilgrims whose trips have been cancelled,” he said.

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali has sent letters to the Saudi Arabian embassy in Jakarta complaining about the quota reduction and only got a response on Friday.

“The minister planned to meet the Saudi Arabian government representatives earlier this week, asking for them to drop the policy, but he called off the trip upon learning that the Saudi Arabian government considers the decision final,” he said.

In its letter to the government, the Saudi’s Haj Affairs Ministry explained that the 20 percent reduction of the quota had to be imposed on all countries, worldwide due to major developments and construction projects that are now taking place in the vicinity of Masjidil Haram grand mosque, in particular the expansion of the tawaf area.

Tawaf is one of the most important rituals in the pilgrimage where Muslim have to walk counter-clockwise around the Ka’bah seven times and extol the greatness of God.

The letter also says that the tawaf area, which normally can accommodate 48,000 pilgrims per hour, currently, due to the ongoing upgrading work, can only accommodate 22,000 pilgrims per hour.

In response Anggito Abimanyu, the ministry’s director general for haj and umrah (minor haj), said that the government had decided to cancel trips for would-be pilgrims and move them to next year’s schedule.

“We will cancel the departure for a number of registered pilgrims with these criteria: those who are above 75 years old, those with disabilities, and those who have taken the trip before,” he said.

Earlier lawmakers called on the government to renegotiate the quota reduction with the Saudi government.

Member of House Commission VIII on religious affairs Hidayat Nurwahid of the Prosperous Justice Party said that complaints could be taken to an international forum.

“We hope that the religious affairs ministry will be able to voice its aspiration in the Organization of Islamic Conference about the need for an increased quota. The quota should no longer be based on the population of a country but on its capability and need,” Hidayat said as quoted by Antara news agency.

There have been many incidents during the haj that have led to the loss of hundreds of lives. The worst usually occur during the Ramy al-Jamarat (stoning of the devil ritual). In 2006, 362 pilgrims died. Tramplings have occurred when pilgrims run between the two hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwa. In 2006 there were some 600 casualties.

Editing by Sudarto Murtaufiq