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Ministry apologizes for transportation woes facing pilgrims
Hundreds of Indonesian pilgrims were forced to walk the four kilometers from Muzdalifah to Mina due to transport delays, sparking swift criticism from the House of Representatives’ haj supervisory team
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Unexpected journey: Indonesian pilgrims walk on Friday from Muzdalifah to Mina in Saudi Arabia. (Antara/Andika Wahyu)
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he Religious Affairs Ministry has apologized for transport delays that forced hundreds of Indonesian pilgrims to walk from Muzdalifah to Mina and sparked criticisms over poor organizing of haj yet again.
Thousands of Indonesian pilgrims were reportedly stuck in Muzdalifah early on Friday due to inconsistent bus schedules and late arrival of buses that were supposed to take them to Mina, causing them to arrive late to perform jumrah, the symbolic stoning of the devil in Mina.
In a statement on Saturday, the Religious Affairs Ministry said that many pilgrims were anxious when they noticed that the buses had not yet arrived until later Friday morning.
“Some pilgrims then decided to travel by foot from Muzdalifah to Mina. It was a spontaneous [decision],” Hilman Latief, the ministry’s director general for haj and umrah (minor haj) management, said.
A viral video showed hundreds of Indonesians walking to Mina on foot, which spans 4 kilometers from Muzdalifah.
According to Hilman, the ministry had requested for intervention from Saudi authorities to speed up the dispatch of the buses and send water, snacks and umbrellas to Muzdalifah.
“As the responsible party for the haj organizing, we extend our apology for the inconvenience experienced by the pilgrims,” Hilman said. He also thanked Saudi authorities for their support in addressing the issue.
