Jakarta – The government has agreed to a proposal on the establishment of an agency tasked with managing the haj fund independently from the Religious Affairs Ministry in order to give pilgrims more benefits and improve transparency.
The haj fund, which is collected from would-be pilgrims, amounted to Rp 64 trillion (US$5.52 billion) as of December 2013 and is currently managed directly by the Religious Affairs Ministry.
The ministry has been under fire for the lack of transparency in managing the fund, especially after some of its officials were implicated in embezzlement.
The establishment of the agency would be one of provisions in the current haj bill, which was tabled to amend Law No. 13/2008 on haj management and is currently being deliberated at the House of Representatives.
Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had instructed the ministry to seriously discuss the haj bill, including the establishment of the new agency, with House Commission VIII overseeing religious affairs.
"The government proposes that the agency be separated from the ministry's directorate general for haj and minor haj management," Suryadharma said in a hearing on Monday with Commission VIII.
In 2012, Suryadharma balked at a proposal to establish a special agency to manage the haj fund separately from the ministry.
During Monday's hearing, Suryadharma said he would respond to public demand that extra benefits be given to haj pilgrims. Currently, the haj fund is managed conservatively by the ministry, which invests the money in bank deposits and Islamic bonds.
Suryadharma said it had been proposed that fund be invested so that pilgrims could get more benefits, similar to that done by Tabung Haji, a Malaysian state haj fund agency, which invests haj funds in various sharia products. "Malaysia can invest its haj funds freely because it has a law to sanction the practice," he said.
Earlier, Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) supported the establishment of a special agency to manage haj funds independently from the Religious Affairs Ministry to boost transparency.
Anggito Abimanyu, director general for the haj and minor haj at the ministry, acknowledged that the management of haj funds by a public service agency would be conducted in a professional, accountable, transparent and trustworthy manner.
Last year, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced that it had launched an investigation into alleged irregularities in the ministry's management of haj funds from 2012 to 2013.
Extensive irregularities were found by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) in January 2013, amounting to Rp 230 billion in 2004-2012.
Anggito said the ministry had made improvements in the management of fund. He said the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) had audited the ministry and found no irregularities in its reports. (gda)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/04/government-agrees-set-agency-haj-fund.html