TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The House of Representatives (DPR) Commission VIII Deputy Chairman from the Golkar Party faction, Ace Hasan Syadzily, asserted that hajj funds were safe and not used for infrastructure projects. He dismissed speculations circulating on social media that the funds had been used for government projects.

“It is completely not true that the hajj funds are used for things other than pilgrimage matters,” said Ace in a press statement received by Antara in Jakarta, Monday, June 7.

The Golkar politician explained the hajj funds were fully managed by the Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH) and under the supervision of the Commission VIII. “And as far as we have observed, no hajj budget is used for infrastructure development,” Ace underlined.

Instead, the hajj funds were invested in sharia-compliant bonds or state sharia bonds (SBSN). “Because if they are just deposited, they will not provide great benefits for pilgrimage purposes,” he added.

Thus, the hajj funds are stored in sharia banks and some invested in securities. Ace ensured that would-be pilgrims would benefit from the fund management and called on the public not to fall into baseless information.

“People are allowed to withdraw their hajj funds but there will be consequences, for example, they cannot obtain a quota number to go or their turn will be cancelled,” Ace said.

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ANTARA