Yaqut 10th member of Jokowi cabinet to face graft charges

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named former religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas a suspect in connection with alleged graft in the administration of the haj pilgrimage in 2024.

The case centers on the misuse of haj quotas, an issue that has historically plagued the ministry. The scandal involves substantial financial resources and implicates several prominent figures from Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).

KPK director of investigations Brig. Gen. Asep Guntur Rahayu revealed that Yaqut is accused of unilaterally misallocating an additional haj quota of 20,000 pilgrims obtained from the Saudi Arabian government in 2024.

According to the investigation, Yaqut, a politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB), split the additional quota evenly: 50 percent for the regular haj and 50 percent for the more expensive special haj. This allegedly contravened the Administration of the Haj and Umrah Law, which mandates that 92 percent of the quota be allocated to the regular haj and only 8 percent to the special haj.

The additional quota was secured in late 2023, when then-president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to address waiting times for Indonesian pilgrims that can span decades. Saudi Arabia subsequently granted the extra 20,000 spots to Indonesia as a state, not for private discretionary distribution.

Yaqut is suspected of causing the largest financial damage in the history of religious ministry corruption. Estimated state losses reach into the trillions of rupiah. In comparison, previous corruption cases under ministers Said Agil Husin Al Munawar (2001–2004) and Suryadharma Ali (2009–2014) involved losses of hundreds of billions and Rp 27 billion, respectively.

The alleged mismanagement reportedly prevented 8,400 prospective regular pilgrims from departing for the Holy Land.

The KPK has seized approximately Rp 100 billion linked to the case. However, investigators acknowledged difficulties in recovering all assets, as several travel agents have allegedly converted the funds into personal property.

In addition to Yaqut, the KPK has named Ishfah Abidal Aziz, a former special staff member to the minister, as a suspect. The commission is also questioning Aizzudin Abdurrahman, head of the Economic Division of NU’s Central Executive Board, and Muzakki Cholis, deputy Katib Syuriyah of NU’s Jakarta regional board.

To date, neither Yaqut nor Ishfah has been detained, despite their formal designation as suspects.

Abdul Wachid, the deputy chair of House of Representatives Commission VIII, criticized the slow pace of the investigation, noting that suspects were only named recently despite strong evidence surfacing earlier. The House had already flagged irregularities through a special committee of inquiry in 2024.

The case is politically sensitive given Yaqut’s background. He served as minister from December 2020 to October 2024 and has been chairman of the NU-affiliated Ansor Youth Movement since 2016.

Responding to the involvement of NU figures, Yahya Cholil Staquf, NU chairman and Yaqut’s elder brother, emphasized that the organization was not involved in the case implicating his sibling.

Yaqut becomes the 10th member of president Jokowi’s former cabinet to be implicated in corruption, joining a list that includes trade minister Thomas Lembong, social affairs ministers Idrus Marham and Juliari Batubara, youth and sports minister Imam Nahrawi, maritime affairs and fisheries minister Edhy Prabowo, communications and information minister Johnny G. Plate, agriculture minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo, deputy law minister Edward “Eddy” Hiariej and education and culture minister Nadiem Makarim

Except for Tom, Nadiem and Eddy, the members of Jokowi’s cabinet are politicians. Tom was found guilty in July last year but immediately received a pardon from President Prabowo Subianto, while Eddy was acquitted.

Due to its vulnerability to graft, the management of the pilgrimage has been stripped from the Religious Affairs Ministry. It is now under the jurisdiction of the Haj and Umrah Ministry, established in 2025. The new minister, Mochamad Irfan Yusuf (an NU figure), is supported by Deputy Minister Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, a prominent Muhammadiyah figure close to President Prabowo.