TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Indonesia's Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Mochamad Irfan, said his ministry will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the 2026 Hajj season, with reducing pilgrim deaths and improving services among its top priorities for next year.
Speaking at the opening of the National Work Meeting on the Evaluation of the 2026 Hajj Pilgrimage at the Hajj Dormitory complex in Jakarta on Saturday, July 4, Irfan said this year's Hajj operations succeeded in lowering the mortality rate among Indonesian pilgrims by around 25 percent compared with the previous year.
Despite the improvement, Irfan said the number of deaths remained too high.
"We were able to reduce the mortality rate by about 25 percent, but it is still too high. The death toll of more than 350 is still significant," he said, as quoted from the Ministry of Hajj's YouTube channel.
To further reduce fatalities, Irfan said the ministry will strengthen healthcare services for pilgrims during next year's Hajj.
It also plans to address overcrowding in Mina, one of the most persistent operational challenges during the pilgrimage.
"Mina became one of the weak points in last year's services," he said.
Evaluation to Focus on Improvements
Irfan said the post-Hajj evaluation should serve as the starting point for improving future pilgrimage services, acknowledging that several shortcomings had emerged during this year's operations.
He urged officials to conduct the review transparently rather than concealing problems, emphasizing that identifying mistakes is essential to improving future Hajj management.
"We reveal the mistakes, reveal the shortcomings with the aim of improvement, not to blame each other," he said.
Ministry Highlights 2026 Hajj Achievements
Despite the challenges, Irfan praised the overall implementation of the 2026 Hajj, describing it as one of Indonesia's most successful pilgrimage operations.
"In fact, this success has been referred to by the public and various parties as one of the best Hajj implementations ever," he said.
According to Irfan, the results were supported by eight key innovations introduced this year, including the allocation of provincial Hajj quotas, lower pilgrimage costs, and the implementation of the Nusuk digital card system for pilgrims.
The operational phase of Indonesia's 2026 Hajj officially concluded on July 1. Indonesia was allocated a total quota of 221,000 pilgrims. This year's Hajj operations began on April 21, with the peak ritual of wukuf at Arafah taking place on May 26. The return of Indonesian pilgrims started on June 1 and concluded on June 30 and July 1.
Hajj Costs May Rise Next Year
Also speaking at the evaluation meeting, Chair of the House of Representatives' Commission VIII, Marwan Dasopang, warned that the cost of organizing Indonesia's Hajj pilgrimage could increase next year due to higher taxes and rising commodity prices in Saudi Arabia.
However, he said Commission VIII and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah would seek ways to prevent an increase in the Hajj cost borne by pilgrims by identifying areas where spending could be reduced.
"For example, flight costs," Marwan said.
Read: Indonesia Says Hajj Costs May Increase Next Year
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