Sharia Economy In Indonesia Is Getting Tougher, MES Expands Networks In 24 Countries

Secretary IV PP MES, Dr. Teguh Santosa, at the inauguration of the Central Kalimantan MES Regional Management at the Central Kalimantan Governor's office, Palangka Raya, Wednesday, October 9, 2024. (IST)

JAKARTA - The Islamic Economic Community (MES) continues to grow rapidly as an inclusive organization that collects various resources to build synergies between stakeholders in the development of the sharia economy in Indonesia. Now, MES is active in 30 provinces, 129 regencies/cities, and 24 countries.

The General Chairperson of PP MES, Erick Thohir, expressed his appreciation for this development in his remarks read by the Secretary IV PP MES, Dr. Teguh Santosa, during the inauguration of the Central Kalimantan MES Regional Management at the Central Kalimantan Governor's office, Palangka Raya, Wednesday, October 9, 2024. Erick emphasized that the impact of various MES activities was getting wider and well organized, both domestically and abroad.

"This development has a positive impact on economic growth and sharia finance, as well as facilitating coordination in various regions. This also opens up opportunities to accelerate sharia economic activity in a wider community," said Erick Thohir, who also serves as Minister of SOEs, in a written statement received in Jakarta, Thursday, October 10.

The newly inaugurated Central Kalimantan MES Regional Management was led by General Chair Hj. Norhani and General Secretary Heru Hidayat. Present at the event, Plt. Secretary of Central Kalimantan M. Katma F. Dirun representing the Governor, as well as Acting Mayor of Palangka Raya, Hera Nugrahayu, who also serves as Chairman of the Regional Management of MES Palangka Raya. In addition, regional administrators from several districts/cities in Central Kalimantan, such as North Barito, East Kotawaringin, and Kapuas, were also present.

Erick Thohir also highlighted the results of the Consolidation Meeting of the Se-Kalimantan MES Region which was held on September 6-7, 2024 in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. Several strategic programs have been decided, including training and halal certification for MSMEs, as well as increasing the capacity of MSME actors and assisting halal certification.

"We hope that these programs will not only achieve short-term targets, but also have a broad and sustainable impact on the economic and financial progress of sharia in Indonesia," Teguh continued.

In his remarks, Plt. Secretary of Central Kalimantan, M. Katma F. Dirun, also hoped that MES could clean up the image of the sharia economy which had been damaged by the practice of fake financial institutions in Palangka Raya who claimed to be sharia institutions but operated as moneylenders.

Socialization of Pertashop Islamic Boarding Schools

After the inauguration, a socialization was held related to the Pertashop program which was one of MES' work programs to support the distribution of one national price of fuel oil (BBM). This program is expected to strengthen the economic ecosystem of pesantren and provide benefits for rural communities.

This socialization presented several speakers, including the Head of the Pertashop Acceleration Team for Islamic Boarding Schools of the Ministry of SOEs, Dr. Jaenal Aripin, and representatives from Pertamina, as well as Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI). This program is the result of a collaboration between PT Pertamina, BSI, and MES, which began with the signing of the MoU on June 4, 2021 and was witnessed by the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia KH Ma'ruf Amin and the General Chairperson of PP MES, Erick Thohir.

Through this collaboration, it is hoped that pesantren can become the center of the sharia economy that not only serves the needs of the pesantren itself, but also has a positive impact on the surrounding community.