Baznas Harmonises Poverty Alleviation Programmes with Presidential Staff Office

The National Alms Agency (Baznas) is harmonising its steps and programmes with the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) to support the acceleration of poverty alleviation in Indonesia. Idy Muzayyad, Baznas’s head of distribution, utilisation, and empowerment, stated that the agency has 13 priority programmes for the 2026–2031 period, all directed towards poverty eradication. He explained that the implementation of these programmes is designed to align with the national development targets outlined in the Asta Cita, particularly the poverty alleviation agenda. Baznas is also pushing for the acceleration of a presidential regulation concerning zakat for civil servants (ASN) and state-owned enterprises (BUMN). This regulation is expected to optimise national zakat collection, which currently stands at only about 10 per cent of its total potential. With strengthened regulation, Baznas projects that zakat collection from the ASN and BUMN sectors could reach approximately Rp18 trillion per year, significantly expanding the reach of empowerment programmes and the agency’s capacity to assist the poor. Erni Juliana, a senior expert staff member at the Deputy II of the KSP, explained that the meeting aimed to align zakat management programmes with the President’s priorities, including extreme poverty alleviation, stunting reduction, and strengthening the sharia economy and financial sector. She noted that the government is also encouraging the strengthening of the sharia economic ecosystem alongside the planned transformation of the National Committee for Sharia Economy and Finance (KNEKS) into a Sharia Economy Agency.