The Indonesia Yogyakarta Regional Office of the Religious Affairs Ministry (Kanwil Kemenag) assessed that the waiting time for the hajj pilgrimage in the region has now exceeded 30 years.

“For now, the waiting time is estimated to be around 34 years, but for certainty, we are waiting for KMA (Decree of the Religious Affairs Minister),” said Aidi Johansyah, the head of the hajj and umrah organizing unit of the Yogyakarta Kanwil Kemenag, on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.

The long waiting period was attributable to the rising enthusiasm of people to perform the pilgrimage. However, the hajj waiting time in Yogyakarta is still below that of South Kalimantan and South Sulawesi, which is around 50 years.

Aidi mentioned there will likely be 3,116 would-be pilgrims in this year’s departure. In detail, 1,133 from Bantul, 921 from Sleman, 419 from Gunungkidul, 388 from Yogyakarta City, and 255 from Kulon Progo.

According to him, prospective pilgrims in the region were no longer dominated by the elderly or senior citizens. “There are also many young people. This year, we expect that the youngest prospective pilgrim will be 18 years old and the oldest will be 95 years old,” said Aidi, adding that there will only be 157 elderly people.

Regarding the 2023 hajj travel expense which was increased by Rp10 million to Rp49.8 million, Aidi said it would not affect the enthusiasm of the would-be pilgrims who were scheduled to depart this year.  “Thank God, there is no report of prospective pilgrims stepping down [from the list] because we have disseminated the figure.”

Tempo.co