Jakarta, Nov 24 (Antara) - The Indonesian government is determined to
improve the management of hajj funds amounting to Rp60 trillion which
are gathered from down payments of 1.5 million would-be hajj pilgrims
now still on the pilgrimage waiting list.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Finance signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Friday on the utilization of the
hajj funds for investment in the state sharia-based bonds (sukuk).
The memorandum signed on Friday was the second MoU agreed by the two
ministries after they agreed to cooperate in the management of hajj
funds in 2009. Friday's MoU is expected to reap benefits by placing the
funds under a securer, more transparent and accountable management.
According to Finance Minister Chatib Basri, the down payments of
would-be hajj pilgrims deposited in the form of hajj funds continued to
increase. After all, the number of new would-be pilgrims also continues
to increase every year which now has reached about 1.5 million people.
This means that, under the basis of Indonesia's annual hajj quota of
211,000, the government will need more than seven years to finish
sending the would-be pilgrims to the Holy Land.
Therefore, the hajj funds collected from the would-be pilgrims' down
payments have the potential to be invested. Its yields could be used for
improving the government's services for hajj pilgrims.
"The hajj funds could serve as a potential state budget financing owing
to the fact the number of new would-be hajj pilgrims and those already
on the waiting list continues to increase every year," Minister Chatib
Basri said after signing the MoU with Religious Affairs Minister
Suryadharma Ali.
He said that the revision of the 2009 MoU was intended to provide
flexibility for the ministry of finance and the ministry of religious
affairs in investing the hajj funds in the sharia-based bond instrument.
"So far, the initiative to invest the hajj funds in the state
sharia-based bonds has been taken by the ministry of religious affairs.
With the new MoU, the initiative can also be taken by the ministry of
finance," he said.
Up to now the amount of hajj funds placed in the sharia-based bonds
reaches Rp41.8 trillion with outstanding nominal up to October 2013
totaling Rp31.5 trillion, or about 19 percent of the total state
sharia-based bonds worth Rp160 trillion.
Director General of Hajj Affairs Anggito Abimanyu of the Ministry of
Religious Affairs said meanwhile that the two ministries signed the MoU
in an effort to optimize the utilization of the hajj funds. Moreover,
the hajj funds are expected to reach Rp100 trillion in 2020.
Besides, according to Abimanyu, the MoU could lead to a more
transparent and accurate placement of the yields of the investment in
the sharia-based bonds. It could also boost the optimizing of the yields
for hajj projects of the ministry of religious affairs.
"We will prepare a project financing document for the religious affairs
ministry through sukuk (sharia bonds) based projects in 2014. It is in
the form of revitalization and development of hajj boarding houses worth
Rp200 million. This kind of project will continue to be carried out the
following years," the director general said.
In
a limited discussion in Yogyakarta two weeks ago, Director General of
Hajj Affairs Anggito Abimanyu of the Ministry of Religious Affairs said
that the management of hajj funds needed a clear legal umbrella because
the management of the funds constituted a mandate of the people.
"Therefore, the ministry of religious affairs has submitted a Bill on
Hajj Financial Management (RUU PKH) to the House. It is now under the
deliberation of the House of Representatives (DPR)," Abimanyu said
during the discussion with the leaders and lecturers of the
Yogyakarta-based Indonesian Islamic University (UII) recently (Nov. 9,
2013).
With the presence of a legal umbrella, the hajj funds could be utilized
maximally so that it will benefit hajj pilgrims. "In this case,
academicians have a strategic role in popularizing the benefit of the
RUU PKA to all stakeholders and the people in general," he said.
The
RUU PKH contains a number of crucial points which serve as a strong
legal guidance for the utilization of the pilgrims' funds, including
matters on financial report and the formation of a Hajj Financial
Management Agency (BPKH) to be charged with supervising the funds.
"The amount of hajj funds is quite big. Up to April 2012 it has reached Rp54.5 trillion," Abimanyu said.
In the meantime, UII Rector Edy Suandi Hamid said the DPR was urgently
expected to endorse the bill on hajj financial management because the
amount of the funds was large and could be used maximally to increase
services for hajj pilgrims.
"The government and the House of Representatives are expected to finish
deliberating the RUU PKH. It should soon be enacted into law. This is
important because the hajj funds have big potential if managed well and
more accountable," Hamid said.
He said that big benefit could be obtained through investing the funds for example in the financial service sector.
If possible, the institution assigned to manage the funds could
cooperate with other parties to build an apartment in Mecca and Medina
or a catering services.
"This could provide solutions to complaints with regard to boarding
facilities which are far from Mecca Grand Mosque and the Nabawi Mosque
in Medina. It could also eliminate complaint about the catering service.
All this must be managed proportionally," Hamid said.
He said that the hajj funds were very large reaching Rp54.5 trillion in
April 2012 and in 2018 the amount is expected to reach Rp100 million.
"Thus, a transparent and professional management of the funds is an
urgent thing. We are aware of the fact that the ministry of religious
affairs could not yet optimize the fund management due to the absence of
a legal umbrella that regulates it," Hamid said.
The UII rector said as the amount of the funds was large, it often
created suspicion among the public over its management while they had
not yet been utilized maximally such as investing them in the real
sector and in other hajj related services.***4***
(T.A014/f001 )
(T.A014/A/A. Abdussalam/F. Assegaf) 24-11-2013 16:19: |
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