Jakarta – A team from the Religious Affairs Ministry’s Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah (PHU) traveled to Saudi Arabia to finalize catering services for Indonesian pilgrims ahead of the 2022 Hajj trip.
“According to Religious Affairs Minister (Yaqut Cholil Qoumas’) directions, we are expected to labor during the Eid Al-Fitr national leave time to prepare services for (Indonesian Hajj) pilgrims,” directorate general secretary Ahmad Abdullah Yunus said in a statement on Saturday.
On May 6, 2022, while dispatching the team at Soekarno Hatta Airport in Banten Province, Yunus mentioned that meal services for pilgrims had been planned since early 2022.
However, because the Saudi Arabian administration had not declared the precise quantity of the pilgrimage quota at the time, the preparation was suspended at the contract negotiation stage based on approximated pilgrim data.
“As a result, the team is traveling to Saudi Arabia to finish the agreement with the catering supplier, particularly for the services (when pilgrims stay) in Jeddah and during the peak phase of Hajj in Arafah, Muzdalifah, and Mina (Armuzna),” said the directorate general secretary.
Meanwhile, pilgrims’ consumption services during their pilgrimage in Mecca and Medina had been agreed, and only the service quota needed to be changed.
After the negotiations are completed, the team will present a proposal to the Hajj Affairs Office (KUH) of the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah for determining the provision of consumption services.
As a result, the office can complete the service provider’s contracting process.
“During the pilgrimage time, each of the 1443 Hijri (2022 AD) Indonesian Hajj pilgrims would receive a maximum of 119 meals,” Yunus, who is also the leader of the catering negotiation team, remarked.
According to him, the amount includes 75 meals in Mecca, 27 meals in Medina, 16 meals in Armuzna (including one box of snacks in Muzdalifah), and one lunch at Jeddah Airport.
