August 26, 2025 | 04:02 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) revealed that 8,400 Indonesians were unable to perform the hajj in 2024 because of misallocation of the additional quota provided by the Saudi Arabian government.
Acting Deputy for Enforcement and Execution at the KPK, Asep Guntur Rahayu, noted that many of these pilgrims had been waiting in line for over 14 years and should have been able to travel last year.
"There are 8,400 pilgrims who have been waiting for more than 14 years and should have departed in 2024, but did not," Asep said on Monday, August 25, 2025, at the KPK Red and White Building.
The delays stemmed from the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ decision to split the additional 20,000 hajj quota evenly between special and regular pilgrims, 50 percent each.
However, Law Number 8 of 2019 on the Organization of Hajj and Umrah specifies that 92 percent of the quota should go to regular pilgrims and only 8 percent to special hajj participants.
The KPK also disclosed that the special hajj quota was priced between Rp200 million and Rp300 million per person, while the furoda hajj quota cost around Rp1 billion per person. Investigators suspect that excess funds, ranging from US$2,600 to US$7,000 per pilgrim, may have been diverted to individuals involved in alleged corruption within the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
"The amount varies depending on capacity, as it is never fixed," Asep explained.
The KPK is currently tracing the flow of corruption funds from the 2024 hajj quota, which could lead to former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas. Several individuals close to Yaqut are expected to be summoned for questioning this week.
"We plan to summon those close to him this week, or at the latest, next week," Asep said.
So far, no witnesses have been summoned, as the KPK prefers to conduct thorough searches first to prevent the loss of critical evidence. "Once the evidence is secured, the individuals will be summoned for confirmation," he added.
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