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<b>Jakarta.</b>  The Corruption Eradication Commission has pledged to investigate bribery allegations concerning House of Representatives’ deliberations about this year’s hajj management.

Rumors that members of House Commission VIII, overseeing religious affairs, received Rp 25 billion ($2.78 million) in bribes from the Ministry of Religious Affairs have been circulating over the past few months.

The ministry wanted to increase the hajj fee by $133 per pilgrim, while lawmakers sought a reduction of as much as $400.

“We’ve heard the allegations,” Johan Budi, spokesman for the antigraft commission, known as the KPK, said on Thursday.

“If anyone can provide us with solid information, we will certainly follow it up.”

House Deputy Speaker Anis Matta, from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), has asked the KPK to investigate the matter.

Fellow Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said the House Ethics Council would conduct its own probe into the matter.

“The Ethics Council will investigate because this rumor has been circulating for months,” he said.

“It must be unraveled. The House leadership has taken a special interest in the matter because the House’s image is at stake.”

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali has denied the accusations. “I didn’t give anything, not even a penny, to the commission,” he said.

Commission VIII chairman Abdul Kadir Karding also denied receiving bribes.

“That’s just a rumor. The fact is there were no bribes, at least not that I received,” he said.

He welcomed the KPK’s investigation, saying it would be useful to get the facts straight.

“Rumors like these ruin the House’s image,” he said. “We’re always associated with bribes.”

The KPK has previously identified 48 areas in the hajj service prone to graft. It concluded that the ministry had not been transparent in appointing service providers, causing massive inefficiencies in the management of the hajj.

The KPK said lack of proper planning had led the ministry to conduct an improper tendering process for the 2009 hajj.

Several KPK officials posed as pilgrims for last year’s probe. They found that Indonesian pilgrims received fewer facilities and services than those from other countries, who paid significantly less.

KPK deputy chairman Muhammad Jasin backed the ministry’s decision to cut this year’s fee from $3,422 to $3,342.

“This shows it has become more efficient,” Jasin said.

“We hope all of the recommendations from the KPK are implemented by the ministry.”