Vice President sends Indonesian haj pilgrims on the way to Mecca

Jakarta, NU Online
Vice President Jusuf Kalla sent off Tuesday the first Indonesians on the annual haj to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

A group of 454 pilgrims left from Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on a government-chartered Garuda Indonesia flight, while others departed from 11 international airports around the country.

Social Services Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah, who is also the interim religious affairs minister, said pilgrims started departing Tuesday, with the last scheduled to leave on Dec. 25. They will return home between Jan. 5 and Feb. 1, he added.

Bachtiar said the pilgrims would be assisted during their journey by 2,752 officers, including 480 workers hired specifically for the haj season. Their jobs will be made easier by the new, compulsory, uniform for Indonesian pilgrims.

During the departure ceremony at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Kalla told the pilgrims to behave well in Saudi Arabia.

Behaving well and maintaining "good Indonesian norms" were important since the pilgrims were carrying the name of Indonesia, the Vice President added.

"Maintain order and good behavior during the pilgrimage at the Holy Land of Mecca because you pilgrims are representing the nation," he said as quoted by the Jakarta Post.

Kalla also reminded the pilgrims to look after their health, as weather forecasts suggest it will be colder than usual in Mecca this year.

The pilgrims paid around Rp 25 million (US$2,717) for full board and transport. The amount is considered a large sum in Indonesia, where many people earn less than US$2 a day.

Islam obliges its followers who can afford it to perform the haj to Mecca once during their lifetime. (dar)