
UIN Antasari Banjarmasin Ready to Cast Certified Professional Hajj Advisors
“Since the 19th century, Banjar people were actually blissful to depart for Hajj. In fact, the study of Hajj by many of our scholars stated that the number of Indonesians who left for Hajj placed South Kalimantan (Banjar people) as the highest in Indonesia. “Recently today, the duration of the queue to leave for Hajj in South Kalimantan has reached 29 years,” said Professor of Religious Sociology who is also Chancellor of UIN Antasari Banjarmasin Prof. Dr. H. Mujiburrahman, MA when delivering his speech at the Executive Religious Studies Forum under the topic “Transformation and Innovation in The Implementation of Hajj and Umrah ” as well as the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between UIN Antasari Banjarmasin and the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah Implementation of Ministry of Religion of The Republic of Indonesia on the Implementation of Hajj Manasik Advisor Certification Program in Zafry Zamzam Hall, Rector Building of UIN Antasari Banjarmasin (Tuesday, 01/15/2019)
The long duration of the pilgrimage queue, according to Prof. Nizar in his presentation, was caused by a quota restriction policy for the departure of pilgrims which was one person per thousand (1: 1000), due to the limited available space in Mina as well.
Furthermore, the former Head of Regional Office of the Ministry of Religion of Yogyakarta also revealed that the affair of organizing the Hajj is a very complex matter. Therefore, an extra care and carefulness are needed to take care of it. For this reason, in the implementation of Hajj in 2018, 10 innovations had been carried out, including pilgrimage biometrics records for all Hajj embarkations in Indonesia, QR Code on congregational bracelets, full one-season accommodation rental system in Medina, use of spices and cooks (chef ) from Indonesia, the addition of catering services for Indonesian pilgrims in Mecca, special markings on passports and suitcases, and the use of cabin bags, portions transfer to death congregations to heirs, visa printing that can now be done by the Ministry of Religion, placement of one consultant in each sector and the formation of a First Aid Team on Pilgrims. (P3JH).
“In 2019, several innovations will be added to improve the satisfaction of congregation services, including the implementation of fast track at all departure airports, placement of pilgrims based on zoning systems, construction of integrated digital officer reporting systems, and strengthen of Hajj manasik,” said Prof. Nizar
Then, the Director of Hajj Founding, H. Khoirizi. S. Sos., MM also added that the number of pilgrims who were very plenty up to two hundred thousand also needed a mentor who had sufficient competence, not only had to understand on the side of worship, but also had to understand the regulatory side of its implementation. That was then one of the strong reasons for the need of competent Hajj advisors.
To answer the availability of the Hajj advisors, the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah Organization of the Ministry of Religion recruited Islamic religious campuses to implement the Hajj Manasik Advisor Certification Program. “And UIN Antasari Banjarmasin is the 12th PTKI which states that we are ready to implement the certification program,” he said.
The collaboration between UIN Antasari Banjarmasin and the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah Implementation of the Ministry of Religion of The Republic of Indonesia concerning the Implementation of the Hajj Manasik Advisor Certification Program includes, First, improving the quality, creativity and integrity of manasik advisors in order to be able to actualize their potential and professional duties in creating independent Hajj pilgrims both in worship and travel; Second, giving recognition and protection to the professionalism of the manasik advisors to perform Hajj, duties, responsibilities and authorities in providing guidance for the Hajj manasik according to government regulations; Third, standardizing advisor’s competencies so that they can guarantee the quality of guidance services for Hajj manasik; and Lastly, becoming mediation for the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah Organizers in realizing quality assurance for manasik advisors in both the government and the community.
(rdh-public relation)