Minister to discuss additional hajj quota at DPR meeting soon

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin will promptly meet the House of Representatives' (DPR's) Commission VIII over the 10 thousand additional hajj quota by Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud to President Joko Widodo.


"The Religious Affairs Ministry will leave no stone unturned in its attempts to ensure the realization of (the additional quota) this year. However, the government will not be able to achieve this singlehandedly without the House of Representatives' (DPR's) Commission VIII giving its approval," Saifuddin remarked at the Halal Park in proximity to the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Sports Stadium, Jakarta, on Tuesday.

President Widodo embarked on a work visit to Saudi Arabia on April 13-15. During his stay in Saudi Arabia, he had held a meeting with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud at his private palace Al-Qasr Al-Khas in Riyadh on Sunday (April 14, 2019).

At the meeting at the Crown Prince Palace on Sunday evening, the Saudi king concurred to raising the Indonesian hajj quota by 10 thousand, while reiterating the Saudi agreement to raise the hajj quota during bilateral talks with President Widodo.

"Hence, I individually communicated with some leaders of the House's Commission VIII yesterday. Now being their recess, the government and BPKH (the Hajj Finance Management Board) will soon hold a working meeting with them to discuss the repercussions and consequences of granting an additional hajj quota of 10 thousand. We are expecting our House of Representatives to give a seal of approval to the additional hajj quota," he added.

He is upbeat that the 10 thousand additional hajj quota would be realized in 2019 and expects the meeting with the DPR to be held next week.  

Reporter: Desca Lidya Natalia, Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution