MBG Zakat Fund Issue Denied, Baznas RI: Not as Serious as Pun

JAKARTA - The National Zakat Agency (Baznas) RI has confirmed that Zakat, Infak, and Sedekah (ZIS) collected from muzaki and the community are not used to fund the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) Program.

Head of the Collection Directorate of the Indonesian National Agency for Religion, Rizaludin Kurniawan, said that the use of ZIS has clear rules of use and cannot be diverted outside the provisions that have been established in Islamic law.

"We emphasize that the zakat, infak, and alms that the public entrusts to Baznas are not used even one percent for the MBG Program. All of them are channeled for the welfare of the community in accordance with the provisions of the eight asnaf," said Rizaludin, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, February 25.

Rizaludin emphasized that ZIS can only be allocated for eight groups of recipients (asnaf) as regulated in Islamic law, namely the poor, the poor, the amil, the mu'allim, the riqab or slaves, the gharimin or people who are burdened with debt to meet basic needs, fisabilillah, and ibnu sabil or travelers who run out of supplies.

He said that the provision was a signpost or the main basis for zakat governance at Baznas, so that the entire process of collection to distribution must remain within the sharia corridor and not deviate from the applicable rules.

Furthermore, Rizaludin explained that institutionally and in terms of funding sources, the MBG Program and zakat management are in different systems.

The MBG program is a government program funded through the state budget, while the ZIS funds come from public trust whose use is strictly regulated in Islamic law.

"Therefore, the use of zakat funds cannot be diverted to programs that are not included in the asnaf category, including the MBG Program," he said.

Rizaludin ensured that the management of zakat at Baznas was also guided by the 3A principle, namely Aman Syar'i, Aman Regulasi, and Aman NKRI. These principles are the basis for the management of zakat not only to be in accordance with religious teachings, but also to obey the law and support the interests of the nation.

In its implementation, Rizaludin said that the distribution and utilization program of ZIS managed by Baznas was focused on poverty alleviation, improving access to education, health services, economic empowerment, and humanitarian assistance for vulnerable groups which are included in the category of eight asnaf.

In line with this, Rizaludin also appealed to the public not to be influenced by information that cannot be accounted for regarding the use of zakat funds.

He emphasized that the trust of the muzaki remained intact and all zakat funds were channeled to the right target for the poor and vulnerable groups in various regions in Indonesia.

"We (Baznas) run transparent and accountable governance through reporting and periodic audits as a form of accountability to the public. The public can see the report in its entirety on the official Baznas website, www.baznas.go.id," said Rizaludin Kurniawan.