Fadli Zon: Extra Hajj Quota Not Government Accomplishment
13 January 2017 21:06 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Fadli Zon said that the extra quota for Indonesian hajj pilgrim was a result of the normalization policy. He said that it would be an exaggeration to pin it as a diplomacy success between the Indonesian government and the Saudi Arabia Kingdom.
The Gerindra Politician stated that the cut on Indonesia’s Hajj quota was due to the Masjid Al-Haram complex' expansion project. The original quota of 211,000 was cut to 168,800.
The current 221,000 slots granted to Indonesia, according to Fadli, is the Saudi Arabia’s normalization policy following the completion of the project. “This isn’t an outstanding achievement,” Fadli said on Friday, January 13, 2017.
He also thought that a 10,000 quota increase was not that significant, considering the extensive waiting list.
To determine a hajj quota must also refer to the deal made by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OKI). OKI agreed that each country deserves one quota per mile or 1:1000. Therefore, it would need to conduct a diplomacy with OKI if Indonesia wants to increase the hajj quota.
AHMAD FAIZ
