REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Ali Taher Parasong, chairman of the Commission VIII of the House of Representative (DPR), said if the government planned to use Hajj funds for infrastructure development, it should be done with caution, properly and in line with the existing laws and regulations.

"We from the Commission VIII of DPR RI, does not object the government's plan to use Hajj funds to finance infrastructure constructions such as roads, bridges, etc. But it must be conducted very carefully and in line with the existing laws," Parasong said while speaking in a discussion on "Infrastructure Investment by Using Hajj Funds," here on Tuesday.

Based on the Law No 34 Year 2014 on Hajj Funds Management, Hajj funds could be used only for the needs of Hajj pilgrims and the interest of Muslims, the legislator from the National Mandate Party, said.

The Hajj funds management must also be carried out transparently and accountably.

The Hajj funds investment could be done in the forms of banking products, securities, gold, direct investment and other investment, he said. 

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Last Saturday, Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin said that funds from Hajj Management Body (BPIH) could be used for productive projects. 

This includes building of infrastructure and this is based on the Constitution and rules of fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence.

"As long as the use of the funds meets sharia principles namely use with caution, generating values, in accordance with the prevailing regulation and for the sake of hajj pilgrims and people in general, hajj funds can be used for infrastructure investment," Lukman Hakim stated.

Last Wednesday, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated the board of managers for a new independent Hajj fund agency. It takes over management of the fund from the religious affairs ministry.

Traditionally, the Haj fund has put most of the money it receives from Indonesian Muslims, who pay deposits to get a place for a pilgrimage, into banks.

The Head of State told the new board that rather than leave funds "idle", it is better to invest them in places that are "safe but with big profits". 

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