Association of Muslim Pilgrimage Organizers and Umrah The Republic of Indonesia (AMPHURI) requests the VIII Commission of the People's Representative Council (DPR) not to include provisions for independent umrah in the revision of Law No. 8 of 2019 on the Implementation of Hajj and Umrah or Haji UU .
Zaenal Abidin, Chairman of the AMPHURI Ethics Committee, considers that including provisions for independent umrah in the article actually opens the door for non-procedural umrah services.
"Since it is not prohibited, it does not need to be regulated, there is no need for it to appear in the law," he said at the National Work Meeting of AMPHURI 2025 in Yogyakarta on Sunday, July 20, 2025, as quoted from Among .
Nevertheless, Zaenal does not demand a ban on independent umrah because it could be seen as undermining the public's desire to perform religious duties privately. "Suppose a cleric or a minister wants to go on umrah, they can. Therefore, since it is not prohibited," no "don't worry about it," he said.
According to data from the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA), AMPHURI recorded the number of Indonesian umrah pilgrims during the 2024-2025 period reaching 1.6 million people. However, he said, data from the Kementerian Agama's Siskopatuh application only recorded 1.4 million people.
It means, according to Zaenal, there is a difference of about 200,000 people who are suspected to perform umrah outside the official government mechanism. This difference is the reason why AMPHURI rejects the regulation of independent umrah in the revised Hajj Law. Because it is feared that this would open a wider gap for non-procedural umrah practices.
The government together with the DPR is preparing revisions to two laws related to hajj. They are the Law on the Implementation of Hajj and Umrah or the Hajj Law, and the Law on the Management of Hajj Funds.
The government and the DPR consider the second revision of the law as an urgent need to create an adaptive ecosystem for Indonesian hajj in line with the latest policies of the Saudi government.
President of the Central Executive Board (DPP) of AMPHURI, Firman M. Nur hopes that the revision of the Hajj Law will strengthen the national hajj and umrah service ecosystem. Especially, this regulatory change is accompanied by the establishment of the Hajj Agency (BP Haji), which will replace the role of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in organizing hajj.
For this reason, the Government hopes that the DPR, especially the Legislative Body and Commission VIII, will pay attention to the sustainability of the private sector related to hajj and umrah services in the revision of this law.
"Independent Umrah is not significantly affecting us, but we want to ensure that the regulations on the implementation of Umrah services through PPIU (Umrah Travel Service Providers) will provide protection for pilgrims and legal certainty for them," said Firman.
By not accommodating the rules of independent umrah in the law, according to him, the protection of pilgrims is more guaranteed, so Indonesia can maintain the country's reputation on the international stage, as well as in Saudi Arabia.
Firman added that AMPHURI will also push for the role of associations as part of the supervision in carrying out hajj and umrah rituals to be explicitly included in the Hajj Law. "Because until now, there is still no article that includes the role of associations. That is one point we will fight for," he said.
As for the Director General (Dirjen) of the Implementation of Hajj and Umrah (PHU) at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Hilman Latief stated that the issue with independent umrah is not about whether it is allowed or not. "This is not a matter of being allowed or not allowed, but how the system can be managed, monitored, data-based, and so on," said Hilman.
Hilman added that one aspect that needs to be strengthened is the institution and supervision, because there are still practices of visa abuse and unqualified travel agencies. "If we strengthen the institution and supervision, we can minimize the abuse, both in terms of immigration and unqualified travel agencies," he said.
DPR's House Committee Estimates the Hajj Bill Will Be Taken to the Plenary Session in August
Previously, the Deputy Chairman of the DPR's Baleg Committee, Ahmad Iman Sukri, estimated that the revision of the Hajj Law could be brought to the first-level plenary meeting by the latest early August 2025.
"The harmonization of the bill has been completed, now it's just waiting for the DPR's Consultative Body (Bamus DPR)," Iman said when met after the PKB EcoGen launch event in Jakarta on Saturday, July 12, 2025.
A member of the Pancasila's Strength Party (PKB) stated that after being brought to the first-level plenary session as an initiative of the DPR, the next process is waiting for the presidential letter (surpres). Then, the list of issues (DIM) of the bill will also be discussed by the government.
Iman emphasized that the Hajj Bill is not a regular regulation, but a very important bill because preparing for the Hajj requires one year. "Therefore, we hope it will be completed by early August at the latest. If possible, we hope it can be completed this July," he said.
This legislator from East Java revealed that there are several crucial points in the Hajj Bill, namely entrusting the authority of hajj to the Hajj Agency, such as the presidential regulation (perpres) issued by President Prabowo Subianto.
Prabowo, he said, wants the affairs of hajj and umrah to be handled by this new agency so that various hajj issues that almost occur every year, such as transportation, food, health, and others, will not happen again.
Meanwhile, State Secretary Minister (Mensesneg) and Spokesperson of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Prasetyo Hadi stated that the Hajj Agency will lead the implementation of Hajj and Umrah rituals in Indonesia. Thus, the Hajj organizers next year will no longer be under the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
The design was submitted as a proposed point by the government in the revision of the Hajj Law. "There is currently a discussion on the DPR's initiative proposal regarding the Hajj Bill. We will see its development later," he said at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta, Friday, July 11, 2025.
This Gerindra Party politician mentioned that the government is waiting for the DIM of the Hajj Bill from the DPR. After receiving the DIM, the government will provide some comments. "We will study it along with all the notes from previous Hajj implementations," said Prasetyo, who hopes that the Hajj Agency will make the Hajj implementation better than before.
The DPR's Legal Drafting Commission (Baleg) agreed to make the Hajj Law (RUU Haji) as an initiative bill of the DPR on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. Previously, the VIII DPR Commission had drafted it, and the results were then harmonized by Baleg. In the draft, Baleg regulated the Head of the Hajj Agency (BP Haji) to be at the ministerial level. Previously, the position of BP Haji was only regulated in Presidential Regulation No. 154 of 2024.
Deputy Head of the Hajj Agency Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak said that the agency formed by President Prabowo will improve several aspects, such as the preparation of pilgrims' data and the implementation of the hajj. The Hajj Agency, he said, still has homework to improve the recommendations of the Special Committee or the 2024 Hajj Committee.
Haji BP also needs to make improvements based on the diplomatic note from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "The government is preparing standard operating procedures (SOP) to improve the management of the pilgrimage," he said when contacted on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
Hendrik Yaputra , Ervana Trikarinaputri , and Among contributed to the writing of this article.
Comments
Post a Comment