Vice President Ma'ruf Amin: The Government Optimizes The Potential Of The Islamic Social Finance Sector

Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Ma'ruf Amin gave a virtual speech at the event of Islamic Syiar and Tarhib Ramadhan 1443 H Indonesian Ulema Council, in Jakarta, Thursday (31/3/2022). (ANTARA/BPMI Setwapres)

JAKARTA - Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin stressed that the government continues to optimize the potential of the Islamic social finance sector to create a sustainable social safety net.

"The sustainable social safety net model is realized by increasing the role of the economy and inclusive Islamic finance through optimizing the Islamic social finance sector," said the Vice President in the "Economic Challenges Special Ramadhan" program broadcast by a private television station, which was monitored in Jakarta, Saturday.

The vice president said the Islamic social finance sector includes zakat, infaq, alms, and waqf (ziswaf).

He said that from the potential for zakat of IDR 327 trillion per year, currently only IDR 71 trillion has been extracted.

He said during the pandemic the government had pushed zakat to be directed at social assistance for the poor as well as assistance for small entrepreneurs.

"So it encourages economic activities to occur at the level of small communities," he explained.

Meanwhile, for waqf, the Vice President said that the estimated assets could reach IDR 414 trillion, while the potential for cash waqf could reach IDR 180 trillion per year.

"This is what we develop and encourage through the sukuk waqf program, the results of which are conveyed to the community to help the community in the context of social assistance. The capital continues to be developed, and it has been launched into a national movement," he explained.