The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has officially named Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, the former Minister of Religious Affairs (Menag), widely known as Gus Yaqut, along with his former special staffer, Ishfah Abidal Aziz, or Gus Alex, as suspects in an alleged Hajj quota corruption case. The focus now shifts to understanding their specific roles in this high-profile investigation.
According to Asep Guntur Rahayu, Deputy for Enforcement and Execution at the KPK, the intricate case began to unfold in June 2023 when Indonesia received its annual Hajj quota of 221,000 pilgrims. A significant development followed in October 2023, as the Saudi Arabian government granted Indonesia an additional 20,000 Hajj slots, a move prompted by the country’s extensive Hajj waiting list, which had reached an astounding 47 years.
In November 2023, Yaqut issued Ministerial Decree (KMA) Number 1005 Year 2024, detailing Indonesia’s 2024 Hajj quota. This decree allocated the base 221,000 pilgrims, with 203,320 slots designated for regular Hajj and 17,680 for special Hajj programs. Subsequently, early November 2023 saw a working meeting between the Minister of Religious Affairs and Commission VIII of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) to discuss the 2023 Hajj financial accountability report and the proposed additional Hajj quota for 2024. During this crucial meeting, Yaqut announced that the additional 20,000 quota would be divided with 92% for regular Hajj (18,400 slots) and 8% for special Hajj (1,600 slots).
Shortly after, communications emerged between technical staff at the Indonesian Hajj Affairs Office in Jeddah and Gus Alex, revealing that Indonesia’s initial 221,000 Hajj quota was already registered in the e-Hajj application. This established the baseline for the subsequent discussions. Later, acting under the explicit instructions of Gus Yaqut, Gus Alex conveyed to the Indonesian Hajj Affairs Office staff that the additional 20,000 Hajj quota should be split evenly, 50%-50%, between regular and special Hajj categories. “IAA [Ishfah Abidal Aziz] stated that the additional 20,000 quota would be divided equally, or 50:50, based on directives/orders from YCQ [Yaqut Cholil Qoumas],” Asep explained during a press conference on Thursday, March 12.
The communication regarding this 50:50 division continued, including plans to separate the allocation of the additional 20,000 quota from the base 221,000. Gus Alex was also reportedly involved in discussions and provided technical guidance to Saudi Arabian authorities on how to implement this revised quota distribution scheme, aiming to ensure the 50:50 split appeared to comply with regulations. Asep detailed, “In these communications, IAA mentioned that he discussed and received directions from YCQ as the Minister of Religious Affairs.”
Still in November 2023, Fuad Hasan Masyhur, owner of Maktour Hajj travel and a board member of SATHU (Forum for Hajj and Umrah Travel Associations), initiated a meeting with Gus Yaqut. Several other Hajj travel association executives also attended this meeting. Asep revealed that the discussion included “SATHU Forum’s request to manage more than 8% of the additional special Hajj quota.” Subsequently, a working committee meeting between Commission VIII DPR RI and the Ministry of Religious Affairs ultimately agreed on a Hajj pilgrimage cost (BPIH) budget based on the original allocation: 221,720 (92%) for regular Hajj and 19,280 (8%) for special Hajj.
However, contradicting this agreement, Gus Yaqut expressed his desire to Hilman Latief, Director General for Hajj and Umrah Organizing at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, to divide the additional 20,000 quota with a 50:50 allocation. “YCQ also asked HL [Hilman Latief] to draft an MoU with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding the proposal for an additional Hajj quota with a 50:50 division scheme,” Asep stated. He added, “Furthermore, YCQ ordered a simulation to be conducted that could serve as justification or the basis for changing the composition of the additional quota to 10,000 regular Hajj and 10,000 special Hajj.”
As Indonesia’s additional Hajj quota was already registered in the e-Hajj application, Gus Alex directed the Hajj Affairs Office in Jeddah to request the Saudi Arabian Minister of Hajj and Umrah to implement the 50:50 quota division. Asep highlighted, “This marked the initial request for the 50:50 quota division from the Ministry of Religious Affairs to the Saudi Ministry of Hajj.” In December 2023, Gus Alex communicated and confirmed that the 2024 Hajj quota division would proceed as per Yaqut’s revised plan. This plan involved allocating 92% (203,320 pilgrims) for regular Hajj and 8% (17,680 pilgrims) for special Hajj from the base quota, while the additional 20,000 quota would be split 50% for regular Hajj and 50% for special Hajj. Asep emphasized, “This point indicates that the initiative to request a 50:50 division of the additional quota came from YCQ.”
By late December 2023, Yaqut issued KMA Number 1156 concerning the Additional Hajj Quota for 1445 Hijriah/2023 CE, which officially mandated the 50% regular and 50% special Hajj split for the additional quota. Intriguingly, Asep noted, “YCQ’s decision was not widely circulated among the Director General of Hajj and Umrah; only certain individuals were aware of this KMA.” Furthermore, Yaqut sent a letter to the Saudi Ministry of Hajj, stressing that Indonesia’s total Hajj pilgrims would be 241,000, divided into 213,320 for regular quota and 27,680 for special quota. “This implies that the additional quota had already been divided 50:50,” Asep clarified.
In January 2024, Gus Yaqut further cemented this change by issuing KMA Number 130 Year 2024 regarding the Additional Hajj Quota for 1445 Hijriah/2024 CE, which officially accommodated this quota division and simultaneously revoked KMA Number 1156 of December 21, 2023. Following the issuance of this regulation, Gus Alex allegedly instructed M. Agus Syafi’i, Head of Sub-directorate for Licensing, Accreditation, and Special Hajj Management at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, to solicit fees from travel bureaus. These fees, amounting to at least USD 2,500 or IDR 42.2 million per pilgrim, were allegedly demanded “to obtain the additional special Hajj quota, also known as T0 or TX quota. The collection of these funds took place between February and June 2024,” Asep detailed.
However, when news surfaced about the DPR’s intention to form a Special Committee (Pansus Haji) to investigate Hajj affairs, Gus Alex reportedly panicked. He immediately instructed Agus Syafi’i to return the collected money. Despite this, Asep revealed that “a portion of the fee money was still kept and used for YCQ’s personal interests.” He further alleged, “The money collected from these fees was also suspected to have been used to ‘condition’ the Hajj Special Committee, which YCQ was aware of.”
For their alleged actions, Gus Yaqut and Gus Alex face charges under Article 2 paragraph (1) or Article 3 of the Anti-Corruption Law (UU Tipikor), which pertain to acts causing state losses. The KPK has disclosed that the state losses, calculated by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) in connection with this case, amount to a staggering Rp 622 billion.
Gus Yaqut’s Defense
In response to the accusations, Gus Yaqut has argued that the 50:50 Hajj quota division was implemented based on the principle of `hifdzun nafs`, aimed at ensuring the safety of pilgrims given the limited available space in Saudi Arabia. He also asserted the existence of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia regarding this quota division, which he claims served as the basis for issuing Ministerial Decree (KMA) Number 130 Year 2024 concerning the additional Hajj quota distribution. Yaqut vehemently denies taking any personal profit from the alleged corruption.
The KPK, however, refutes Gus Yaqut’s defense, stating that the principle of `hifdzun nafs` is inconsistent with the original objective behind the provision of an additional Hajj quota.
Summary
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named former Minister of Religious Affairs, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas (Gus Yaqut), and his former special staffer, Ishfah Abidal Aziz (Gus Alex), as suspects in an alleged Hajj quota corruption case. The case focuses on the manipulation of an additional 20,000 Hajj slots granted by Saudi Arabia to Indonesia. Gus Yaqut allegedly directed that this additional quota be split 50:50 between regular and special Hajj, deviating from the initially agreed 92% for regular and 8% for special Hajj, a change formalized through a Ministerial Decree.
Gus Alex reportedly communicated these directives, instructing officials to pursue the revised quota split with Saudi authorities, and allegedly solicited fees from travel bureaus for additional special Hajj quotas. Although some collected funds were reportedly returned, a portion was allegedly retained for Gus Yaqut’s personal interests and to influence a DPR special committee. These alleged actions have led to a calculated state loss of Rp 622 billion, with Gus Yaqut denying personal profit and claiming the 50:50 division was for pilgrim safety, a justification the KPK refutes.