RI Fails To Get Additional Hajj Quota

Semarang (Antara Bali) - Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said here on Saturday that Indonesia failed to receive an additional Hajj quota from Saudi Arabian government for this year's pilgrimage season.

"There was an additional quota for 10,000 persons last year, but there is no additional quota this year," the minister said at the Wahid Hasyim University here on Saturday.

The minister explained, it depends on the Saudi government whether or not to grant additional hajj quota for Indonesia, because the number of would-be hajj pilgrims from various countries also continue to increase.

"It is not easy to get the additional Hajj quota because hajj pilgrims from various countries also increase," he said, adding the difficulty to obtain an additional hajj quota has led to as long as 15 years in the hajj waiting list.

Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country and sends more than 220,000 hajj pilgrims to Mecca in Saudi Arabia every year.(*/T007)