Baznas and KP2MI Strengthen Collaboration on Migrant Worker Zakat Management

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s National Zakat Agency (Baznas) is strengthening synergy in the management of zakat, infak and sedekah (ZIS) funds and empowerment programmes for Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) together with the Ministry for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (KP2MI).

Baznas RI Chairman Sodik Mudjahid, in a statement issued in Jakarta on Wednesday, said the synergy focuses on strengthening Baznas’s role in collecting and channelling ZIS funds specifically intended for the welfare of migrant workers.

“Broadly speaking, there are two major elements: cooperation and support for us in carrying out our task of mobilising, managing and utilising zakat, infak and sedekah, with a specific focus on migrant workers,” he said.

Through this synergy, Sodik said, Baznas is also preparing additional financial support for prospective migrant workers undergoing pre-departure training before being sent to their destination countries.

He explained that assistance programmes in the form of educational scholarships and entrepreneurship training have also been allocated for the families of migrant workers left behind in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, Mukhtarudin, said his ministry is committed to strengthening synergy with Baznas to build a comprehensive protection and empowerment ecosystem for migrant workers and their families.

Through this cooperation, he continued, both parties are working to optimise emergency assistance, placement financing schemes and entrepreneurship training for returning migrant workers in order to drive their economic transformation.

“Going forward, we want to further develop how we can unlock the potential of Indonesian migrant workers who today are still mustahik (zakat recipients) so that in the future we can encourage them to become muzaki (zakat contributors),” said Mukhtarudin.