3 months ago
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January 16, 2025 | 07:49 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chairman of the House of Regional Representatives (DPD) Sultan Najamuddin proposed zakat, infaq, and sadaqah (ZIS) funds to help finance the program Free Nutritious Meals (MBG). Zakat is the mandatory donation of part of their wealth to charity, while infaq and sadaqah are types of alms. This is because, said the Sultan, the budget from the state is not enough to cover the total budget needed to implement the MBG program.
This proposal then drew responses from many parties. Some parties support the proposal, but there are also those who openly reject it. The idea of using zakat to cover the budget needs of the MBG program was finally also responded to by the Palace and the DPR.
Palace finds the idea of using zakat for MBG shameful
Presidential Chief of Staff A.M. Putranto believes that the proposal to use zakat funds to support MBG does not align with the purpose of zakat. He even mentioned that the proposal would be very embarrassing if implemented because zakat funds should not be allocated for the MBG program.
"So, no one takes from zakat, (the idea) is very embarrassing, yes, it's not like that," he said at the Presidential Staff Office in Jakarta, Tuesday, January 14, 2025.
Putranto said that zakat funds have a different designation and cannot be used to benefit the MBG program. He added that the government has allocated a large budget for the program, amounting to Rp 71 trillion. "The use of zakat is not for that," he said.
DPR urges caution on zakat proposal to fund free nutritious meal program
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Adies Kadir warned that the idea of zakat funds to fund the free nutritious meal program should be studied carefully. According to Adies, the government has studied President Prabowo Subianto's flagship program well.
"The government must be careful too, because everything goes through the government. Later, you will be accused of gratuity again. It's also a hassle. So we need rules, even if there is zakat (for MBG), what kind of zakat model," he said when stating the Bendungan Hilir area, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
The Golkar politician also assessed that zakat funds usually have special designations. Thus, the zakat funds are actually not intended for government programs. "If it's zakat, it's usually for individuals, but this is a government program," he said.
Daniel Ahmad Fajri and Antara contributed to this article.
VEDRO IMANUEL GIRSANG | IMAM HAMDI
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