Chairing a plenary cabinet session marking the first year of his administration, Prabowo said the ministry should explore ways to lower Hajj expenses through budget efficiency and clean governance.
“Minister Yusuf is currently in Saudi Arabia dealing with this issue. I asked for a reduction in Hajj costs through budget efficiency and transparent management,” the president said at the State Palace in Jakarta.
He emphasized that lowering the Hajj cost and cutting the waiting time are achievable goals under the new Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, which was created earlier this year. The ministry now directly oversees all pilgrimage affairs, previously managed by the Hajj Organizing Agency.
According to Prabowo, the new ministry was established at the request of the Saudi Arabian government, which preferred to coordinate Hajj matters with ministerial-level counterparts.
“We formed the Ministry of Hajj at the request of the Saudi government. They wanted to deal directly with a minister-level official, so we had to adapt,” Prabowo said.
The president also disclosed that Saudi Arabia recently amended its laws to allow foreign governments to purchase land in the holy cities, enabling Indonesia to establish an Indonesian Hajj Village in Mecca.
He said the Saudi government has offered Indonesia several strategic land plots, including sites near the Grand Mosque, for the project.
However, Prabowo cautioned that the land purchase process must follow an open auction system involving about 90 other bidders.
The president underscored that improving the efficiency, transparency, and accessibility of the Hajj process remains one of his administration’s priorities, aiming to ensure fairer opportunities for millions of Indonesians waiting to perform the pilgrimage.
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Translator: Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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