Rebuild Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School Using State Budget Criticized, Cak Imin: What Is Your Solution? Please Open Your Eyes

A Joint Agreement On Synergy In The Implementation Of Islamic Boarding School Infrastructure Of The Minister Of Public Works, Minister Of Home Affairs, And Minister Of Religion At The Office Of The Coordinating Ministry For Human Development And Culture, Jakarta. (Diah-VOI)

Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment (Menko PM) Muhaimin Iskandar (Cak Imin) admitted that he was surprised by the criticism from some parties in responding to the government's plan to rebuild the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School which collapsed using the state budget (APBN).

According to Cak Imin, the rebuilding of the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School, whose buildings collapsed and killed dozens of students, is indeed feasible for the government to use the state budget.

Because, it cannot be seen, the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School oversees around 1,900 students who still need to continue their education in a proper place.

"The government wants to be silent? To friends who protest using the state budget, what is your solution? To the DPR, there are one or two people protesting, what is your solution with 1,900 students studying?" said Cak Imin at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development, Central Jakarta, Tuesday, October 14.

Moreover, if the government does not attend and intervene in rearranging the post-incident Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School, Cak Imin assesses that other criticisms have also emerged. With the assumption that the government does not care about the rights of the students to receive education.

"So please open your eyes that what we are helping are the children of the country who are studying. So I really can't understand what was criticized by the government's efforts to protect children who are studying and there is no place to study," he said.

The most important thing about this incident, continued Cak Imin, is how the government is trying to protect and maintain a sense of security to undergo the learning process of the students.

However, he claims that it does not mean that the government has ruled out elements of negligence in the building construction and supervision process at the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School.

"Because there is something wrong with negligence, it is another process that please continue. But that there is a fact that our generations are following the learning that must be protected, the meaning of the presence of the state. That's why the President ordered not only to be audited, but also assisted," explained Cak Imin.

The government's plan to revitalize the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School building which collapsed using the APBN has drawn pros and cons from some parties, ranging from community institutions to several members of the Indonesian House of Representatives.

According to economist from the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) Nailul Huda, the use of the APBN for the rebuilding of Al Khoziny's Islamic boarding school is not a good decision in the midst of difficult situations experienced by most people.

Director of Economics Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) Nailul Huda said, in economic glasses and state budget policies, it should not be that there should be conditions of use that are not based on the budget planned at the beginning.

"All the money coming out must have a planning document, including when you want to rebuild your cellphone or a private building," said Huda.

According to Huda, the use of the APBN for the rebuilding of the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School is not a good decision because at the same time the needs of the community are still high but the budget is transferred to individual buildings.

"So according to the budget mechanism and ethics of state spending, the rebuilding of Islamic boarding schools cannot be from the government's pockets," he said.

The Federation of Indonesian Teachers' Unions (FSGI) also condemned the government's plan to discuss the rebuilding of the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School from the State Budget. FSGI assessed that this step hurt the sense of justice for families of victims of the tragedy of the collapse of buildings that killed dozens of students in early October.

"An investigation should have been carried out first of the tragedy of the collapse of the Ponpes building in Sidoarjo. Don't build it right away, especially at the cost of the state budget. The incident killed 67 students, who in fact are still children," said Chairman of the FSGI Expert Council Retno Listyarti.

Retno emphasized that the use of the APBN to rebuild the prayer room has the potential to provide gifts' to negligent parties.

"Don't let those who are negligent and result in the death of 67 children be given gifts at the expense of the state budget. This is very unfair and hurts the feelings of the victims and the public," he said.