Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill maintaining the government as the single Islamic haj organizer amid criticism of monopoly by the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU).
The new law says the Religious Affairs Ministry will continue to control the pilgrimage business operation despite many complaints from various sides about alleged corruption and poor management and services. However, the law requires the government to form an independent supervisory committee to monitor the haj management.
The Indonesian Haj Supervisory Committee (KPHI) would consist of nine members – three government officials and the remaining six from public elements, including the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).
The three officials in the committee would be comprised of single members of the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Health Ministry and the Indonesian Embassy in Saudi Arabia.
The nine members, whose tenures are set to last three-years, are tasked with choosing a KPHI chairman and deputy chairman, as well as supervising and analyzing haj operational management and offering recommendations to the government.
The KPPU once met President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and asked the government to allow the private sector to become involved in haj related businesses to increase competition and efficiency.
Muhammadiyah Din Syamsuddin made a similar call for an end to monopoly in haj operations. He said the government should allow community groups, including Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama – the nation's two largest Muslim organizations – to manage the pilgrimage of their own members.
Once established, the KPHI would have to oversee the whole haj management and report to the President and the House at least once in a year.
The new law also mandates the Religion Affairs Ministry to report its financial audit to the President and the House at the latest three-months after the completion of haj pilgrimage. The financial report would have to include the balance of the haj pilgrimage expenses to be deposited under the post of People's Eternal Fund (DAU).
MUI general secretary Sam Ichwan said such a financial report was crucial given that DAU money was highly prone to misuse due to lack of monitoring.
Prior to the enactment of the new law, the Religious Ministry was the sole organizer, supervisory body as well as regulator for the haj management. Former religious minister Said Aqil Hussein Al-Munawwar is serving a 10-year jail term for corruption connected to the misappropriation of DAU funds.
The funds were supposed to be spent on haj related programs, including health care for pilgrims and their education service, while Said was convicted of misusing the money for the interests of himself and his groups.
Under the new law, the Religious Ministry is obliged to establish a board consisting of independent members to supervise the use of DAU money. The law also maintains the government's privilege to set the price for haj pilgrimage and its haj quota for each province after approval from the House.
Many pilgrims have criticized the government for overcharging them, while other critics say the cost of Indonesian haj pilgrimage has been much higher than that imposed by Malaysia.
Indonesia sends more than 200,000 pilgrims to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, annually, making it the largest single-country group last year. It is a huge business for the world's biggest Muslim nation, involving over Rp 6 trillion.