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BI, Baznas, BWI sign MoU on social finance management
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Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo (left) signs a memorandum of understanding with the National Alms Agency (Baznas) and the Indonesian Waqf Agency (BWI) on improving the use of zakat and waqf in Islamic social finance. The MoU signing on Jan. 24, which which took place held at the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) office in Jakarta, was witnessed by MUI chairman Ma'ruf Amin (third right), BWI head Muhammad Nur and Baznas chairman Bambang Sudibyo (right). (Antara/ Dhemas Reviyanto)
B
ank Indonesia (BI), the National Alms Agency (Baznas) and the Indonesian Waqf Agency (BWI) on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on improving the use of the alms and endowments the agencies collected.
The institutions signed the MoU on Wednesday at the Indonesian Ulema Council's (MUI) Jakarta office.
BI Governor Agus Martowardojo said the central bank would also assist the agencies in applying professional management methods for more effective use of the funds and other assets they collected from Muslim patrons.
For example, he said, zakat – obligatory annual alms for Muslims – could be used to finance the businesses of poor people, while waqf – Islamic endowments – could be used to establish free-of-charge marketplaces for those in need of such services.
"Sharia economy is not only related to Islamic commercial finance, such as sharia banks, takaful (Islamic insurance), and sukuk (Islamic bonds), but also to Islamic social finance that is sourced through alms and waqf," Agus said after the signing.
Baznas chairman Bambang Sudibyo said that Rp 5.2 trillion (US$390 million) in zakat was collected from the country's Muslim population in 2016, and that it expected to collect about Rp 6 trillion in last year's zakat.
However, he added, this figure was still far from the actual potential, estimated to be around Rp 200 trillion annually.
"We hope more people will pay their zakat through the government's alms agency, as well as certified zakat agencies, because the number of our middle-class and upper-class citizens are growing rapidly," said Bambang. (bbn)
