August 8, 2025 | 07:11 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is preparing to elevate the alleged corruption case involving hajj quotas to the investigation stage.
KPK Acting Deputy for Enforcement and Execution, Asep Guntur Rahayu, said the case is progressing toward resolution, following the questioning of former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas on Thursday, August 7, 2025.
“This is nearing completion. Hopefully, by the end of August, we can move it to the investigation phase,” Asep said at the KPK Red and White Building in South Jakarta on Thursday.
After his examination, Yaqut expressed gratitude to the KPK for the opportunity to clarify his role in the case. He said he welcomed the chance to explain matters related to the additional hajj quotas during the 2024 pilgrimage.
“Alhamdulillah, I’m grateful to have finally clarified everything, especially regarding the distribution of the additional quotas in the 2024 hajj,” Yaqut said upon exiting the KPK office.
However, he declined to comment on whether there were directives from former President Joko Widodo regarding the request for extra quotas. During Yaqut’s tenure as minister, the Indonesian government negotiated with Saudi Arabia to secure additional hajj slots. “I’m sorry, but I won’t speak on that,” he said.
Yaqut was questioned for five hours about alleged irregularities in the 2024 hajj quota distribution. He arrived at the KPK office at 09:30 AM and completed the examination at 02:18 PM He was accompanied by his spokesperson, Anna Hasbie.
Previously, five public organizations and the Alliance of Students and Youth for People’s Justice (Amalan Rakyat) filed a report with the KPK concerning alleged irregularities in the 2024 hajj administration.
The suspicion of mismanagement stems from findings by the Special Committee (Pansus) Inquiry into the Hajj, which was formed after the House of Representatives' Hajj Supervisory Team discovered problems in the pilgrimage's organization. The formation of the committee was approved during a plenary session of the House on July 4, 2024.
The committee concluded that the Ministry of Religious Affairs violated procedures in distributing the 2024 hajj quotas.
Committee member Wisnu Wijaya explained that the ministry set a quota of 221,000 for the regular hajj and added 20,000 extra slots, which were split evenly between regular and special hajj, with 10,000 allocated to each.
However, the Working Committee on the Cost of Hajj Implementation (BPIH) had already stipulated the 2024 quotas in Presidential Decree Number 6 of 2024, which set a total quota of 241,000 pilgrims. According to the decree, 221,720 slots were for the regular hajj and 19,280 for the special hajj.
Wisnu argued that the Ministry of Religious Affairs should not have altered the distribution, as the quota had already been defined in the presidential decree. He said the additional 20,000 had been included in the total and agreed upon by the House Commission VIII and the ministry on November 27, 2023.
The Prosperous Justice Party lawmaker accused the ministry of bypassing regulations by splitting the extra quota in a way that may have violated the Law on Hajj and Umrah Implementation. He cited Article 64, which limits the special hajj quota to no more than eight percent of the total.
“Dividing the additional quota through a ministerial decree is legally baseless,” Wisnu said.
The committee also found that 3,500 hajj slots were distributed without a proper queue or waiting period.
Additionally, they uncovered allegations of data manipulation within the Integrated Hajj Computerized System (Siskohat), which affected pilgrims’ departure schedules. Some pilgrims reportedly had their trips advanced or delayed, raising suspicions of unofficial transactions.
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