Guarding the National Money Waqf Movement by Prof. Dr. Raditya Sukmana (Java Pos Opinion)

Jawa Pos Opinion January 28, 2021

INDONESIA As a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, it has great economic potential for the people. This can be seen at least with the emergence of various Islamic financial instruments. Both commercial ones such as Islamic banking, Islamic capital markets, takaful, and others as well as social ones such as zakat and waqf.

Especially regarding waqf, there is still a gap between potential and realization. This potential is reflected in the area of ​​waqf land throughout Indonesia which reaches 52.583,45 hectares and is spread over 392.884 locations, as can be seen on the Waqf Information System (Siwak) page of the Indonesian Ministry of Religion.

In addition to land waqf, there are currently known cash waqf instruments. Namely, waqf assets in the form of cash that are managed sustainably in productive businesses. Existing data shows that the potential for cash waqf in Indonesia reaches IDR 180 trillion per year. The realization and management of the waqf potential above, if it can be optimized, should be able to bring the nation's socio-economic conditions to be better. This is in line with the mandate of Article 22 of Law No. 41 of 2004 concerning Waqf, that the benefits of waqf management are directed to da'wah programs, poverty alleviation, provision of essential services such as education and health, and economic empowerment of the people.

However, the realization in the field has not been fully in accordance with the existing potential. The Ministry of Religion noted that the realization of cash waqf on an annual basis from 2011 to 2018 was IDR 31,9 billion. In addition, the informed land waqf in Siwak is only limited to socio-religious use. Such as mosques, madrasas, and tombs.

The Waqf Literacy Index (ILW) released by the Ministry of Religion in 2020 is also still at 50,48 or the low category. In other words, the literacy of the Indonesian people about waqf is still minimal. This shows that waqf still has a very wide potential space to be explored with the prerequisites of public literacy on waqf that must be improved and waqf management directed at productive management.

In connection with the above, the government, in this case the president of the Republic of Indonesia, launched the National Money Waqf Movement (GNWU) on January 25, 2021. GNWU needs to get appreciation as a form of the government's seriousness in developing the waqf sector in Indonesia. Waqf institutions in Indonesia which have been equipped with statutory regulations (Waqf Law and its derivative regulations) as well as special state institutions regarding waqf (BWI) must be accompanied by socialization in the community so that the practice of waqf is increasingly known and implemented by the community.

However, according to the author, there is one thing that needs to be a common concern, GNWU must be accompanied by a structured mechanism in order to achieve its goals. This is because the movement with the same name was launched by the government on January 8, 2010, also with the title GNWU. However, in the author's view, GNWU at that time did not show the results we expected.

There are several things that according to the author need to be done so that the GNWU launched by the government this year can run optimally. First, there needs to be a clear division of labor between stakeholders in the waqf sector. The success of GNWU cannot be attributed to one entity alone. However, it must be a joint commitment from the central government, BWI, to the wider community as wakif, nazhir who manages waqf, to scholars and academics as parties who have knowledge in the field of waqf.

Second, GNWU is not limited to being an activity that was full of excitement at the beginning of its launch. GNWU must have derivative activities after the inauguration, especially cooperating with the community, so that the introduction of waqf through GNWU can really be realized. These activities can be in the form of religious lectures, content on social media, to the provision of waqf services that can be done through gadgets. In addition, GNWU must get a good response from the local government. The realization can be through derivative activities that involve elements of local government and involve the wider community.

Third, the success of GNWU is determined by a transparent and accountable evaluation mechanism. Learning from the 2010 GNWU case, the lack of news coverage after the inauguration of the GNWU can be seen from the absence of measures that prove the success or failure of the movement. Therefore, the measurement of the waqf literacy index (ILW) that has been carried out by the Ministry of Religion in 2020 must be continued regularly, so that the development of waqf literacy in the community can continue to be monitored from time to time.

source: https://www.jawapos.com/opini/28/01/2021/mengawal-gerakan-nasional-wakaf-uang/