Hajj-Way Robbery

Hajj-Way Robbery Source: Tempo English Magazine, edition 2-8 June 2014 Page 14 Religious Affairs Minister Mr. Suryadharma Ali became suspected of corruption in the hajj pilgrimage funds case. He is suspected of being involved in the markup of the pilgrims expenses. The Commission of Corruption Eradication (KPK) found Rp. 84,4 trillion hajj funds had been accumulated and deposited in 27 banks since 2004. That cash is believed to have been a source of personal gain for officials of this ministry. In my religion, the hajj / pilgrimage to the Islamic holy land, Mecca, is compulsory if we have the finance and physical capability to do so. The Government of Indonesia through the Ministry of Religious Affairs must assure the airfare, accommodation, and living cost of all pilgrims. But the fact is a huge number of hajj funds paid by pilgrims went into numerous bank accounts of ministry officials. It is a new style of robbery. I think that this case is an example of the most immoral conduct carried out by government institutions who should set the standard of religious morals in this country. I hope the truth will come out soon and the guilty party must be jailed for a long time due to his manipulative and corrupt conduct behind this holy religious event. LFN Impact of Hosting The World Cup 2014 on Brazil’s Economy CNBC News, 24 June 2014, 9.30 am This is a conversation between a reporter and a commentator about a topic regarding the impact of hosting the World Cup 2014 on Brazil’s economy. The commentator concludes that The World Cup 2014 has not had any positive impact on Brazil’s economy whatsoever, which is currently collapsing into a multi-dimensional crisis within its society. In my opinion, I mostly agree with the conclusion by the commentator, especially when the country which is hosting big sport events like the World Cup or Olympic Games does not have strong economic power. In this case, Brazil, which is acknowledged as having one of the most corrupted governments and is a relatively poor country, looks not ready to host the World Cup for three reasons. First, technically, several stadiums were not ready just a few days before the kick-off time. Meanwhile, socially, there were wide-spread public demonstrations and protests against the government starting from 2010, when Brazil won the hosting bid, until now. The public says that hosting the World Cup will increase distress for the majority of poor Brazilian people who are experiencing poverty due to the economic crisis. In addition, economically, the World Cup will burden the state budget because it needs millions of dollars spent on infrastructure construction, stadium renovations, to beautify the city, and prepare modern public transportation. It can be concluded that these negative multi-dimensional impacts of the World Cup are much bigger than its benefits. LFN