Rights of Pilgrims Must be Protected
The government is seeking a solution to protect prospective pilgrims who have not yet departed, especially on matters related to their travel agencies, airlines, accommodation, visas and lodging.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS - Saudi Arabia has temporarily banned foreigners from 24 countries, including Indonesia, from visiting the country for the umrah (minor haj). The measure was announced by the Saudi government on Thursday to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the kingdom.
In a response to the ban, Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said in Jakarta on Thursday that the Indonesian government was in communication with Saudi Arabian authorities to ensure that pilgrims who had landed in the country were allowed to continue their pilgrimage.
The government is seeking a solution to protect prospective pilgrims who have not yet departed, especially on matters related to their travel agencies, airlines, accommodation, visas and lodging.
The head of the Haj Health Center of the Health Ministry, Eka Jusup Singka, said Indonesian citizens going on the umrah would be closely monitored to ensure they were in good health. After returning to Indonesia, the pilgrims would be checked at the health center at the airport. "The Indonesian government welcomes the Saudi Arabian government’s decision, because it would be far more dangerous if the pilgrims were infected," he said.
Meanwhile, Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi urged the prospective pilgrims who have not yet departed to understand the decision of the Saudi Arabian authorities. The Saudi Arabian government is responsible for maintaining the health of its people while ensuring better conditions for the haj in June-August 2020.
The vice chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Muhyiddin Junaidi, said he understood the decision of the Saudi authorities. They had good reasons and evidence for the ban. It would be very dangerous to still allow umrah pilgrims to enter the country in the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. If someone was infected, it would easily spread to other pilgrims.
According to information from the Indonesian Embassy to Saudi Arabia, the government has ensured the proper technical implementation of the temporary halt of the umrah to Saudi Arabia from other countries, including Indonesia.
Protecting pilgrims and holy sites from transmission of this disease is very important.
Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Agus Maftuh Abegebriel said he had communicated with the Saudi Arabian government, so that Indonesian pilgrims who had visas could enter the region, because Indonesia was not included on the list of countries affected by COVID-19.
In the Arabian Gulf region, there are four countries with COVID-19 cases, namely Kuwait with 43 cases, Bahrain with 33 cases, Oman with four cases, and the United Arab Emirates with 13 cases. At the peak of the haj season, the number of pilgrims visiting two holy cities of Islam in Saudi Arabia, Mecca and Medina, reaches 2 million people.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the ban was temporary but did not state when it would be lifted. "Protecting pilgrims and holy sites from transmission of this disease is very important," the spokesman for the Saudi Arabian Health Ministry, Mohammed Abdelali, told Reuters news agency.
Cancellation
Due to the decision, prospective umrah pilgrims from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia have to cancel the trips. For example, 112 prospective pilgrims from Palembang were stopped in Singapore. The tour leader of Prabu Tour Baitussalam travel agency, Eef Romain, said pilgrims of five travel agencies had been stopped at Changi International Airport, Singapore.
Meanwhile, the fate of thousands of prospective umrah pilgrims at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, remains uncertain. They had been scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia on Thursday. As the flight was cancelled, they stayed at the waiting room of the terminal. Numerous prospective pilgrims who had already entered the plane were asked to return to the waiting room and their luggage was taken out from the plane. Suitcases were piled up in the Terminal 3 waiting room. Some of the prospective pilgrims looked very tired, some were sleeping on benches or on the floor.
The pilgrims had no choice but to accept the cancellation of their flight.
The loss comes from visa payments, but hopefully insurance can cover it.
The director of travel agency Hawwa Buana Wisata, Bintang, said he had lossed a lot of money due to the cancellation, even though the airline was willing to reschedule the flight once the Saudi Arabian government lifts the ban. "The loss comes from visa payments, but hopefully insurance can cover it," he said.
"We are severely affected by the umrah ban. It is not clear who will bear the losses," the chairperson of the Association of North Sumatra Indonesia Travel Agencies, Solahuddin Nasution, said.
He expressed hope that the Indonesian government would negotiate with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for compensation to cover the losses and that at least prospective umrah pilgrims who had got visas and had paid for their journey and accommodation in Saudi Arabi were allowed to depart. Travel agents have paid for the journey and accommodation of pilgrims, including airline tickets, hotel down payment, food and local transportation.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said the ministers would hold a meeting to address problems caused by the umrah ban. "I have monitored flights to Jeddah. There are two flights, one by Lion Air and one by Garuda Indonesia. I reported to the Foreign Minister to lobby the Saudi government to accept the pilgrims who have arrived in Saudi Arabia even if that means they have to undergo a medical examination first," said Budi.
Observation
Meanwhile, the government has evacuated 188 Indonesian citizens from the World Dream cruise ship. In addition, up to 68 Indonesian citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship will also be evacuated in the near future. All Indonesian citizens will be quarantined on Sebaru Kecil Island.
Muhadjir Effendy said the Indonesian citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which still lay at anchor near Yokohama, Japan, would be flown out by commercial aircraft. Although the Indonesians tested negative for the coronavirus, the government would conduct a reexamination.
Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said preparations for the observation on Sebaru Island had reached 85 percent and were to be completed on Friday morning. According to the head of the disaster information and communication data center of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, Agus Wibowo, the cruise ship crew members would stay in three buildings during the observation.
Meanwhile, a patient at the Dr. Kariadi hospital in Semarang, who has died and tested negative for COVID-19 was confirmed to have been infected with the H1N1 virus, or swine flu. "The H1N1 triggered severe bronchopneumonia causing the death,” said a doctor of the Kariadi hospital, Fathur Nurcholi. (TA N/J O S / E D N/ D I T/ G E R / RAM/IG A/NIK/REN/NSA)