“Hajj prices are soaring”, titre Koran Tempo. To denounce this insane inflation, the daily published on the front page the drawing of a pilgrim draped in white whose walk is hampered by a giant thumb garnished with Saudi riyals.
With the approach of the departure of the first contingent of pilgrims for Mecca, where the hajj will take place this year between July 7 and 12, Saudi Arabia has abruptly set the price of the package for the four days of the highlight of hajj.
“The Ministry [indonésien] des Cultes had budgeted this expense to the tune of 5.8 million rupees [365 euros par personne]”, note Koran Tempo.
This price includes bus travel and accommodation in Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina (Armuzna).
The secretary general of the Association for the Organization of Umrah and Hajj, Firman Taufik, told the daily that the Saudi organizers did not detail the elements that caused the price to rise:
“The pretext is the modernization of accommodation infrastructure. Where, in 2019, pilgrims still slept five in a single tent and had only 0.8 m2 eachthey will now be able to enjoy 1.6 m2 per person. So much so that we can no longer say that they are piled up like sardines”, explains Firman Taufik.
Supported
For Indonesians, this increase increases the cost of the hajj from 5,230 euros in 2019 to 6,307 euros in 2022. (Mecca remained inaccessible in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19). The Minister of Religious Affairs, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, has asked Parliament that this additional cost be borne by the National Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH), which already subsidizes 50% of this pious trip for each of the 221 000 annual hajj candidates.
In 2022, fortunately, only 92,000 Indonesians will leave for Mecca, Saudi Arabia having reduced the quota for each country and limited the maximum age of participants to 65 for health reasons. It will still cost the national agency an additional 97 million euros if the subsidy is approved.
“But if the next hajj season returns to a normal quota of 221,000 pilgrims, the subsidies that will have to be given will be much larger,” entrusts the Minister to Koran Tempo.