ID :
134401
Sat, 07/24/2010 - 00:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/134401
The shortlink copeid
News Focus: GOVT, HOUSE AGREE HAJJ PILGRIMAGE COST AT US$3,342
By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, July 23 (ANTARA) - The government and the House of Representatives finally agreed to the hajj pilgrimage cost at an average of US$3,342 for this year, or a cut by US$80 and Rp100,000 from the previous year at an average of US$$3,522 plus Rp100,000.
The agreement was reached after Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali explained various components of hajj pilgrimage costs and considering the results of a hearing on Wednesday with the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission VIII on religious affairs.
Before the agreement was reached, the meeting between the House Commission and the government was colored with interruptions from legislators and explanations by the religious affairs minister.
Suryadharama Ali explained that his ministry agreed that this year's hajj cost (BPIH) was similar to that in the previous year after being cut by US$80. So, with the cut, the amount would be at an average of US$3,342. The previous year's BPIH was US$3,522 plus Rp100,000.
"Even though the BPIH cost is lowered this year, yet the quality of hajj service would improve," Suryadharma Ali said.
He said that in 2009, only 27 percent of pilgrims stayed in the boarding facilities located in Ring I area which was only about three km from the Haram Mosque. This year, the number of Indonesian hajj pilgrims who will be accommodated at the boarding houses in Ring I areas reached 63 percent.
If possible, he said, the Indonesian government would do its best to provide its hajj pilgrims which totaled 211,000 this year with boarding houses in the Ring I area.
The minister said that of the BPIH total, the government agreed to boarding house cost at 2,850 riyals, lower than the real cost of 3,000 riyals.
"The difference in the boarding house cost would be covered with a fund from the Hajj Optimizing Funds, namely a fund obtain from the interest of the pilgrims' down payments," the minister said.
The minister said that the amount of BPIH as agreed upon by the government and the Commission VIII on Wednesday was the best one after the two sides have some time failed to agree the amount of hajj cost.
"We are aware that this agreement could not yet satisfy all sides but we will do our best for the organization of the hajj pilgrimage this year," the minister said.
On Friday last week , the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) failed to agree on the amount of the hajj pilgrimage cost a would-be pilgrim has to pay for his/her hajj tour of the Holy Land this year.
At a consultative meeting, the government came up with a proposal to cut its previously proposed amount of US$3,577 by 36 dollars while the House Commission VIII on religious affairs asked the government to reduce it by US$119.
"In our calculation, the BPIH still could be reduced by up to 119 US dollars," Muhammad Baghowi, a House Commission VIII member, said after the consultative meeting on Friday.
In the meantime, the government considered that a reduction by US$36 in the hajj pilgrimage cost (BPIH) for 2010 was already enough. "The government cannot go lower than that," Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said on the sidelines of the consultative meeting with the House of Representatives? Commission VIII last week.
He said that if the cut was set lower than that it would force the government to pay many components whose costs should actually be paid by the pilgrims. In reality, the cost of a number of hajj components has increased, particularly that for their boarding facilities.
The government is doing its best to improve the quality of the Indonesian hajj boarding facilities, including their distance from the Haram Mosque. In 2009, only about 28 percent of the Indonesian hajj pilgrims stayed in the boarding houses within Ring I, but this year the government did its best to increase the percentage to 68 percent. Ring I has its farthest border 4 km from the Haram Mosque.
Last year, a total of 209.819 Indonesians made the hajj pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
The minister said that the improvement of the boarding quality had increased pilgrimage cost. The government has set the boarding cost at US$3,000 but actually the real cost for it is US$3,100, the minister added.
However, the minister said on Saturday that the previously proposed BPIH which was set at US43,577 for each pilgrim could just be cut by more than US$100 if the government and the House Commission VIII agreed to it next week.
He said that the cut by that amount could be approved by both the government and the House but it would reduce the hajj optimizing funds and would cause next year's BPIH to be raised.
Muhammad Baghowi said that the government had proposed a cut of US$36 while Commission VIII saw that the proposed US$3,577 still could be cut by US$119.
The government had explained that last year's BPIH for each would-be hajj pilgrim embarking from Jakarta, for example, was set at US$3,444.
So, it proposed a cut of US39 for the Jakarta embarkation BPIH so that this year it would amount to US$3,405. On the other hand, the BPHIs for pilgrims departing from other embarkation points were proposed to be cut by an average of US$36.
"The amount of BPIH the government was proposing was based on the assumption that the cost for boarding houses for each pilgrims was US$3,000," Baghowi said.
In the meantime Baghowi said, Commission VIII's assumption based on the calculation that of the US$3,000 boarding facility cost, US$2,700 would be paid by hajj pilgrims and US$300 with a subsidy using the hajj optimizing funds.
He said that the amount of the subsidy would vary much depend on the location of the boarding houses in Mecca from Ring I to Ring III areas (Ring I's farthest border is 4 km from the Haram Mosque while Ring III's farthest section is seven km from the mosque).
"With the boarding cost subsidy amounting to Rp1 trillion, the use of hajj optimizing funds would still be in surplus," Muhammad Baghowi said.
The hajj optimizing funds are funds collected from the interest of would-be hajj pilgrims' preliminary payments which now have amounted to Rp1,172 billion.
Jakarta, July 23 (ANTARA) - The government and the House of Representatives finally agreed to the hajj pilgrimage cost at an average of US$3,342 for this year, or a cut by US$80 and Rp100,000 from the previous year at an average of US$$3,522 plus Rp100,000.
The agreement was reached after Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali explained various components of hajj pilgrimage costs and considering the results of a hearing on Wednesday with the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission VIII on religious affairs.
Before the agreement was reached, the meeting between the House Commission and the government was colored with interruptions from legislators and explanations by the religious affairs minister.
Suryadharama Ali explained that his ministry agreed that this year's hajj cost (BPIH) was similar to that in the previous year after being cut by US$80. So, with the cut, the amount would be at an average of US$3,342. The previous year's BPIH was US$3,522 plus Rp100,000.
"Even though the BPIH cost is lowered this year, yet the quality of hajj service would improve," Suryadharma Ali said.
He said that in 2009, only 27 percent of pilgrims stayed in the boarding facilities located in Ring I area which was only about three km from the Haram Mosque. This year, the number of Indonesian hajj pilgrims who will be accommodated at the boarding houses in Ring I areas reached 63 percent.
If possible, he said, the Indonesian government would do its best to provide its hajj pilgrims which totaled 211,000 this year with boarding houses in the Ring I area.
The minister said that of the BPIH total, the government agreed to boarding house cost at 2,850 riyals, lower than the real cost of 3,000 riyals.
"The difference in the boarding house cost would be covered with a fund from the Hajj Optimizing Funds, namely a fund obtain from the interest of the pilgrims' down payments," the minister said.
The minister said that the amount of BPIH as agreed upon by the government and the Commission VIII on Wednesday was the best one after the two sides have some time failed to agree the amount of hajj cost.
"We are aware that this agreement could not yet satisfy all sides but we will do our best for the organization of the hajj pilgrimage this year," the minister said.
On Friday last week , the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) failed to agree on the amount of the hajj pilgrimage cost a would-be pilgrim has to pay for his/her hajj tour of the Holy Land this year.
At a consultative meeting, the government came up with a proposal to cut its previously proposed amount of US$3,577 by 36 dollars while the House Commission VIII on religious affairs asked the government to reduce it by US$119.
"In our calculation, the BPIH still could be reduced by up to 119 US dollars," Muhammad Baghowi, a House Commission VIII member, said after the consultative meeting on Friday.
In the meantime, the government considered that a reduction by US$36 in the hajj pilgrimage cost (BPIH) for 2010 was already enough. "The government cannot go lower than that," Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said on the sidelines of the consultative meeting with the House of Representatives? Commission VIII last week.
He said that if the cut was set lower than that it would force the government to pay many components whose costs should actually be paid by the pilgrims. In reality, the cost of a number of hajj components has increased, particularly that for their boarding facilities.
The government is doing its best to improve the quality of the Indonesian hajj boarding facilities, including their distance from the Haram Mosque. In 2009, only about 28 percent of the Indonesian hajj pilgrims stayed in the boarding houses within Ring I, but this year the government did its best to increase the percentage to 68 percent. Ring I has its farthest border 4 km from the Haram Mosque.
Last year, a total of 209.819 Indonesians made the hajj pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
The minister said that the improvement of the boarding quality had increased pilgrimage cost. The government has set the boarding cost at US$3,000 but actually the real cost for it is US$3,100, the minister added.
However, the minister said on Saturday that the previously proposed BPIH which was set at US43,577 for each pilgrim could just be cut by more than US$100 if the government and the House Commission VIII agreed to it next week.
He said that the cut by that amount could be approved by both the government and the House but it would reduce the hajj optimizing funds and would cause next year's BPIH to be raised.
Muhammad Baghowi said that the government had proposed a cut of US$36 while Commission VIII saw that the proposed US$3,577 still could be cut by US$119.
The government had explained that last year's BPIH for each would-be hajj pilgrim embarking from Jakarta, for example, was set at US$3,444.
So, it proposed a cut of US39 for the Jakarta embarkation BPIH so that this year it would amount to US$3,405. On the other hand, the BPHIs for pilgrims departing from other embarkation points were proposed to be cut by an average of US$36.
"The amount of BPIH the government was proposing was based on the assumption that the cost for boarding houses for each pilgrims was US$3,000," Baghowi said.
In the meantime Baghowi said, Commission VIII's assumption based on the calculation that of the US$3,000 boarding facility cost, US$2,700 would be paid by hajj pilgrims and US$300 with a subsidy using the hajj optimizing funds.
He said that the amount of the subsidy would vary much depend on the location of the boarding houses in Mecca from Ring I to Ring III areas (Ring I's farthest border is 4 km from the Haram Mosque while Ring III's farthest section is seven km from the mosque).
"With the boarding cost subsidy amounting to Rp1 trillion, the use of hajj optimizing funds would still be in surplus," Muhammad Baghowi said.
The hajj optimizing funds are funds collected from the interest of would-be hajj pilgrims' preliminary payments which now have amounted to Rp1,172 billion.
