Vice President: Zakat (Alms) for Productive Purposes is More Appealing
In society there is the discourse of zakat for consumptive and productive purposes. This is something that needs consideration from a forum like this. I have the view that there is nothing wrong for both, yet in terms of the effectiveness of the charity as an instrument of poverty alleviation and people’s welfare, the discourse of charity in the interest of production is more interesting.
The view was delivered by the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Ir. Boediono, when opening the 2011 International Zakat Conference at IPB International Convention Center (IICC) (19/7), Bogor.
"Zakat in Indonesia is of great potential. According to the calculation of the Asian Development Bank, it reaches 100 trillion rupiahs. Such a great potential of zakat must be explored seriously in order to turn into an economic power of the society so that it can significantly solve social problems and backwardness of the community. If this real potential is incorporated into the government efforts to alleviate poverty, I believe that poverty can be overcome more quickly," said vice-president.
According to him, one of the most effective efforts in poverty reduction that can be supported by the zakat is education.
"Zakat will have a great role in helping with the funding for schools and students, as well as for empowering Islamic Boarding School graduates who need certain skill to make it easier for them to get a job later, after graduation," he said.
In his view, the effort to realize the enormous potential requires the support of necessary actions. The first is a continuous socialization about the obligation to pay zakat, and secondly its management must apply the principle of accountability and transparency.
Vice President added, for the purpose of proper and regular management of zakat, the government has given facilitation by introducing some regulations, for example, Law no. 38/ 1999 on Zakat Management, Presidential Decree No.. 8/2001 on the National Agency for Amil Zakat (Zakat Management), and Government Regulation No. 60/2010 on Zakat or Religious Contributions, which is obligatory and subtracted from the gross income.
Vice President Boediono hopes this meeting in Bogor can also discuss the role of rich Muslim countries to distribute their zakat to the Muslim countries stricken by poverty.
This conference, held on July 19 to 21, was attended by representatives from various countries including, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Algeria, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Germany. (Mtd)
