Vita A.D. Busyra – The naming of Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali as a suspect last week concerning a graft-ridden management of hajj funds has raised questions among anti-corruption activists on the effectiveness of Indonesia's hajj management.
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Ade Irawan expressed on Friday his disappointment in the Ministry of Religious Affairs – often dubbed the ministry of corruption for its notoriously corrupt handling of Indonesian hajj pilgrims' funds.
Ade said it should come as no surprise that Suryadharma was named a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commisison (KPK) last Thursday concerning his alleged roles in graft-ridden management of hajj funds for the years 2012 and 2013.
"We've had strong evidence concerning misuse of funds at the ministry for some 10 years. Our suspicion was prompted by how powerful the hajj management authority is," Ade told the Jakarta Globe. "They [the administrators] can control and regulate... [and] have hampered the implementation of good principles and governance."
Ade cited past cases involving former religious affairs minister Said Agil Husin Al Munawa, who was sentenced to five years in prison in 2006 over hajj fund graft, as well as the ICW implicating Said's successor, Maftuh Basyuni, who is Suryadharma's predecessor.
"ICW also had reported [to the KPK] a suspected hajj fund corruption in 2010 during Suryadharma's term," he uttered.
The ICW's central data and analysis coordinator Firdaus Ilyas once said in 2011 that the initial deposit of all pilgrims totted Rp 1.1 trillion ($95 million), but around 60 percent was used for preparatory and operational fees, such as hotels and flights, whereas such expenses were guaranteed by the state budget (APBN) – as stated in the 2008 Hajj Management Law.
Furthermore, Ade said the ICW had demanded that the Ministry of Religious Affairs submit the hajj fund management's financial reports, but it has failed to respond even though the public has the right to access these kind of reports – according to the public information law.
Ade said the ministry should no longer hold the authority to manage hajj funds. "In order to get to register for pilgrimage and be in a queue, they [pilgrims] need to pay Rp 25 million. The current number of people registered is three million already, whereas around 195,000 depart every year. Some of them should wait for 10 to 20 years. So, where do the deposits go?" Ade said.
He suggested that hajj funds be managed by an independent agency, rather than the Religious Affairs Ministry, adding the fund management should not be subject to monopoly.
Ade cited as an example how Malaysia runs its Lembaga Tabung Haji, an independent hajj fund board, which allows saving for hajj pilgrimage through Shariah-compliant investment vehicles.
A senior researcher with the Wahid Institute agrees on the urgent need to reform Indonesia's hajj fund management. "The need to reform the management should be radical, that is, to build an administration agency outside the Religious Affairs Ministry," said Rumadi.
Other parties involved
Rumadi criticized the current hajj management's vulnerability to corruption. "There are too many holes that could be played by organizers; almost all aspects in the hajj management can be abused for corrupt purposes," Rumadi said on Saturday.
"These [corrupt] practices have been going on for a long time and there has been no satisfactory improvement. The public has sensed the dreadfulness of the hajj management as well.
Rumadi said Suryadhama might be a victim of deeply rooted corrupt practices. "He can't control a culture that accepts graft and misuse as the norm in the hajj management," Rumadi said.
"Corrupt practices, sometimes, don't just come from Religious Affairs Ministry side, but from external parties, such as the House of the Representatives [DPR]."
Ade said there were indeed multiple actors in hajj management, including lawmakers. "Yes... they have the authority to push for regulations concerning hajj funds, including for catering. Aside from the ministry and the DPR, there are local and foreign agencies providing catering, insurance, transportation and accommodation, who may push ministry officials to engage in corruption, Ade said.
Rumadi asserted that the House needed to accelerate deliberations of a hajj financial management bill so greater transparency and accountability can be applied to money deposited by the faithful who only wanted to perform a sacred duty as required by their religion.
Given that the hajj funds stored has reached Rp 64.5 trillion, deliberations of the bill can not be postponed again, Rumadi said.
He said the government had submitted the bill to parliament, but it seemed like there was no strong commitment from lawmakers to resolving differences because of conflicting interests among them.
Uchok Sky Khadafi, investigation director of Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), lamented severe corruption in the ministry. "It's ridiculous. We can see obviously from the high cost of hajj pilgrimage, which is around Rp 34 million [for each pilgrim]," Uchok said.
While the pilgrims are paying premium prices, catering and accommodation are widely reported as being of poor quality. Indonesia sent more than 156,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia last year.
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/fraudulent-use-hajj-funds-long-suspected-icw/