TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Acting Director-General of Hajj and Umrah at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Khoirizi, explained the Saudi Arabian government reopened its doors only to certain citizens, including their own citizens and people who have a permit to live there, and expatriates.

“Here’s the analogy, if you are a public officer in Saudi Arabia and you coincidentally are in Indonesia, you can now return to Saudi immediately,” said Khoirizi when contacted on Friday, August 27.

He said it was not possible for people to perform hajj and umrah for a temporary period because there were no technical rules for organizing the pilgrimage during the Covid-19 pandemic to date.

The Religious Affairs Ministry, Khoirizi went on, had received a circular from the Saudi Arabia Government regarding the opening of umrah and hajj pilgrimage during the pandemic. However, it was written that the activities are only limited to organizers in the kingdom.

“[The pilgrimage rules are] not for overseas pilgrims, but for internal Saudi Arabia only,” said Khoirizi, adding that the Indonesian Religious Affairs Ministry is still discussing rules for implementing hajj and umrah amid the pandemic with the Saudi Arabia government.

Earlier reported, Saudi Arabia ended the entry ban from 20 countries, including Indonesia. Other foreign nationals allowed to enter Saudi Arabia are those from the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, the US, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, India, Pakistan, and Japan.

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ANDITA RAHMA