Profiting from Haj Pilgrims

A FEW weeks ago, a folder filled with documents was sent to Commission VI of the House of Representativesthe commission that handles matters related to religion and human resources. The folder contained results from an audit performed by the Supreme Audit Agency concerning the Indonesian Department of Religious Affairs organization of the 2003 haj pilgrimage to Mecca. Total discrepancies from previous years amounted to Rp105 billion (2001) and Rp165 billion (2002) respectively. This years audit heralded a new achievementfunds misplaced in the 2003 haj season amounted merely to Rp27.09 billion. This is indeed a trifle figure, but only if compared with the trillions of rupiah spent by Indonesian haj pilgrims and managed by the Department of Religious Affairs, the monopoly holder that has organized the haj for a number of years now. At the close of the 2004 haj season, TEMPO made the following investigative report, which reveals the inner workings of the Department of Religious Affairs in managing the big business of the haj. From Saudi Arabia to Jakarta, a number of inflated figures were exposed, worth billions of rupiah, including a number of outlays that should certainly be called into question. Excerpts from the report follow.