Tri Listiyarini – The largest Islam-based political party has thrown its weight behind a proposal to tackle a lack of transparency and allegations of corruption in the administration of hajj pilgrimages by the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The legislative secretary of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said on Friday his party supported the moratorium on hajj registrations proposed by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Abdul Hakim, in spite of Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali's opposition to the proposal, said it was necessary because the accounting system at the ministry was suspect.

"The accounting system at the Ministry of Religious Affairs has not been run well," Abdul said. "For example, the hajj trip deposits are mixed up with interest from the deposits and with the main funds.

"So to avoid mismanagement of funds, we need a temporary moratorium on new registrations. This will also assist the KPK in combing through the accounting records." Abdul said that the ministry had been breaching the law by taking deposits for the hajj when it was unable to guarantee the depositors' places.

Huge international demand has forced Saudi officials to impose quotas on the hajj since the 1970s, with last year's quota for Indonesians set at 211,000 pilgrims.

"The hajji quota has been relatively static at around 210,000 places per year. Yet the Ministry continues to allow would-be pilgrims to register, and takes their deposits. This is not in accordance with the 2008 law on the hajj pilgrimage, which requires the receipt of hajj deposits to be halted once each year's quota is filled," Abdul said.

The current number of people registered for the hajj is 1.4 million, a backlog of over six years' worth of pilgrimage hopefuls. Their deposits have piled up in a ministerial account to the tune of Rp 38 trillion ($4.2 billion).

This massive balance opens the possibility of misappropriation of bank interest, which is worth around Rp 1.7 trillion annually. The long waiting list also provides the potential for corruption around queue-jumping.

The interest should be returned to registered pilgrimage candidates, Abdul argued. "Despite the Rp 32 trillion in the Ministry's account, the depositors are not benefiting from the interest by enjoying a reduction in the hajj fee," he said.