VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated that the total cash waqf collected and deposited in banks until December 20, 2020, had reached Rp328 billion.

"Meanwhile, the project-based waqf reached Rp597 billion," Indrawati noted at the launch of the National Movement for Cash Waqf and inauguration of the Sharia Economic Brand in Jakarta, Monday.

The minister highlighted the government’s steadfast commitment to promoting the integrated Islamic economic and financial sector to accelerate, expand, and develop the economy and finance to support national economic resilience.

The minister remarked that the sharia social fund sector, comprising zakat (alms), sodaqoh (simple alms), infaq (disbursements), and waqf, as its main component, had strategic potential to be developed.

The Islamic social fund sector has vast potential in supporting efforts to overcome problems of development and poverty as well as boosting the welfare of the community, the minister affirmed.

Indrawati expounded that waqf had developed quite well in Indonesia, albeit generally still in the form of property waqf, specifically land and buildings, for the benefit of the community, such as mosques, Islamic schools, Islamic boarding schools, and burial places.

Hence, in recent years, stakeholders have attempted to develop cash waqf to be managed in a productive, trustworthy, accountable, and professional manner, so that it can strengthen the Islamic social net.

The minister cited as an example the Indonesian Waqf Board (BWI) that had last year mobilized cash waqf and invested it in cash waqf-linked sukuk, or CWLS.

"This is a new instrument issued by the government or the Ministry of Finance in which the yields are utilized to finance various social programs that have currently collected more than Rp54 billion," she stated.

Furthermore, Indrawati noted that her side had also continued to increase the National Sharia Securities (SBSN) associated with the project, specifically projects worth Rp27 trillion, funded by project-based SBSN until this year.

"This is a tremendous increase. Starting from 2013, only one ministry used the Project SBSN, while currently, there are many projects from 11 ministries through the issuance of sharia securities," she stated. (Antaranews)