Director General of Hajj and Umrah at the Religious Affairs Ministry, Hilman Latief, proposed the new hike in this year’s hajj fee during the meeting with Commission VIII of the House of Representatives (DPR) today, February 15, 2023.
He explained that after combining various numbers and services, the government set the price of a 2023 hajj pilgrimage to Rp90,050,637.36.
“When we calculate the hajj travel cost, we have found that pilgrims have to pay a total of Rp49,812,700.26,” said Hilman on Wednesday.
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According to him, the figure was 55.3 percent of the total cost, while the government’s subsidy from the value of the benefit or returns from the hajj fund investment will be Rp40,270,937 or 44.7 percent.
According to him, the figure was determined through meetings and in consideration of information that could not be ignored, such as the conditions in Saudi Arabia, especially the service costs including hotels, transportation, and meals.
Previously, Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas’s plan to increase the hajj cost for this year’s departure to Rp98,893,909 met with public criticism. The ministry also proposed a change in the ratio of the government’s subsidy and the amount that must be paid by would-be pilgrims to 30 percent and 70 percent from previously 59.46 percent and 40.54 percent, respectively. Thus, each pilgrim must spend Rp69 million to perform the hajj in 2023.
Tempo.co
