LOMBOK: More than 5,000 pilgrims from Lombok Island in Indonesia will perform Haj this year, according to Muhammad Zain Al-Abideen Majidi, the governor of the island. The governor was talking to the media last week at a tourism exhibition on the island. He praised the government of Saudi Arabia for upgrading and modernizing the holy sites for the benefit of Muslims. “I would like to thank the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah, for his determination to provide various services for Muslims from all over the world, so that they can perform their Haj easily and securely,” he said. He added that the Minister of Religious Affairs in Indonesia has already coordinated the accommodation of Indonesian pilgrims in Mina and Arafat with the Ministry of Haj in Saudi Arabia. “The Saudi government has been spending lots of money for the sake of Islam especially at the holy sites in Makkah and Madina,” he said. Meanwhile, Majidi called on Saudi businessmen and investors to visit the island and learn about its investment opportunities, particularly in mining and rice cultivation. Majidi said he would soon visit the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry to meet Saleh Kamel, chairman of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, and Saudi businessmen. He will also ask the Furas Company, which belongs to the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, to market the island. Majidi said annual rice production on the island exceeds 1.1 million tons, of which 500,000 tons is consumed locally. About 30 percent of the island's 4.4 million residents work in rice cultivation, he added. The governor said the area has a huge quantity of minerals, most notably gold, in the second biggest mine in Indonesia. That mine is located on Sambawa Island, which belongs to the government of Western Nosa Tanjara, he added. Majidi expects that in the next 15 years, it will become the world's largest gold mine. The mine produces gold and copper, which are exported to Japan. Majidi said there are large reserves of minerals throughout Sambawa Island, most of which have not been mined. Officials are working to attract investments to mine the minerals, which requires a large amount of capital that is not available in Indonesia, he added. He said the Indonesian government is seeking investment from the “strong economies in the Kingdom and the Gulf region” and no longer from Western countries. “We are sure that there are large amounts of money available in Saudi Arabia and there are strong investors there.”
