‘Hajj Fund is Properly Managed’: Indonesian Senior Minister
Indonesia’s Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy has assured that the country’s hajj fund has been managed properly.
The statement was made to respond to public queries about a total of 150 trillion rupiahs ($10.5 billion) haj fund which is collected from would-be pilgrims.
“I guarantee that the hajj fund is managed properly,” Muhadjir said in a press statement on Saturday, June 5.
“As of today, the total haj funds reached 150 trillion rupiahs and it has been properly managed. I understand that people have made queries on the collected hajj funds so far,” he said.
He further added that as information nowadays is accessible by anyone, some people easily spread misleading information to the public. This includes reports that hajj funds had been used to invest in infrastructure projects.
Muhadjir then immediately visited the office of Hajj Fund Management Agency, known by its Indonesian acronym BPKH, in Jakarta on Friday, June 4.
Based on the information received, he said that the management of hajj funds by BPKH has gone very well. “We can assure that the hajj fund has been managed prudently and responsibly,” the senior minister said.
He said that the speculation circulated in public was untrue. BPKH, he said, is an independent and professional body that cannot be interfered with by anyone. Therefore, the hajj fund management can be accounted for objectively.
Muhadjir said that as Indonesia has canceled sending Muslim pilgrims to the hajj in Saudi Arabia this year, it should be seen positively by the people because the decision aimed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.