Indonesia Meets 99 Pct Of Hajj Quota

Jakarta, Oct 14 (Antara) - Indonesia has met 99 percent of the total Hajj quota allotted to it by the Saudi Arabian government, with just 639 seats remaining unclaimed for this year`s pilgrimage, according to an official. Until one day before the "wukuf" (grand assembly) in Arafah, Indonesia had sent a total of 156,467 regular pilgrims and 13,554 special pilgrims, said Anggito Abimanyu, Indonesian Religious Affairs Ministry`s Director General for Hajj and Umrah (minor Hajj) affairs, in Mecca on Sunday. "99 percent of the total quota of Hajj pilgrims, minus the (earlier) 20 percent reduction, has been met," the director general was quoted as saying by the Cabinet Secretariat`s website. Initially, Indonesia had been allotted a quota of 196,419 regular Hajj pilgrims. However, the number was slashed by 20 percent to 157,070 by the Saudi government on account of the renovation of Al-Haram Grand Mosque in Mecca. This year, only 0.4 percent of the regular Hajj quota allotted to Indonesia remained unfulfilled compared to 0.9 percent (or, 1,703 seats) last year, he added. The quota for special Hajj pilgrims this year was 13,600, but 36 slots remained unclaimed. "So, the quota fulfillment this year is better than last year," the official said.