Foundation to collect alms from private sector

JAKARTA (JP): If all goes well, a private charity foundation chaired by President Soeharto will soon be collecting alms from workers in the private sector which will be deducted from their monthly pay packets, it was announced yesterday.

Minister of Social Services Endang Kusuma Inten Suweno disclosed the plan yesterday as part of the National Alms Movement which will be launched next month.

Inten yesterday met with Soeharto, in his capacity as chairman of the Yayasan Amal Bhakti Muslim Pancasila, a private foundation heavily involved in various charitable activities.

The foundation already collects alms from Moslem members of the Civil Service and the Armed Forces.

Inten said Soeharto yesterday proposed that employees set aside a small amount of their salaries for alms channeled through the foundation as part of the national alms movement.

Those with monthly earnings of up to Rp 200,000 are asked to contribute Rp 200 each month. Those earning between Rp 200,000 and Rp 500,000 will be asked to set aside Rp 1,000 and those earning more than Rp 500,000 will be asked to contribute Rp 2,000, Inten said.

The managements of private companies will be asked to deduct the alms contribution from the pay packets of their workers and send the money to the foundation each month, she said.

"This is not coercion, it is an appeal from the Chairman of Yayasan Amal Bhakti Muslim Pancasila," Inten said.

Specifically, the money will be used to improve the welfare of poor people, scholarships for those who need them and to raise the standard of those still living below the poverty line, she said.

Inten was accompanied at the press briefing by former minister Bustanil Arifin who heads the national committee for the celebration of National Solidarity Day, and noted businessman Sudwikatmono.

Inten said Bustanil will explain the detail of the alms collection to the public in the near future. President Soeharto had discussed the planned campaign with a number of business leaders and they supported it, she added.

The plan is already working well with the civil service and Armed Forces. Non-Moslem civil servants and Armed Forces members are also giving alms but through Yayasan Dharmais, another charity foundation chaired by Soeharto.

Inten said the committee for National Social Solidarity Day last year raised Rp 12.5 billion ($5.9 million) from the business community.

Rp 8.5 billion of the funds has been used to finance the construction of three low-cost apartment buildings. The apartments are scheduled for completion in March, she said.

The other four billion rupiah has been spent constructing houses in former slum areas of the five regions in Jakarta, she said, adding that the houses would be inaugurated on the National Social Solidarity Day on Dec. 20.

However, the peak of Social Solidarity Day will be held in Ambon on Dec. 17 when President Soeharto gives awards to 22 social workers for their dedication. On the same day Soeharto will also launch National Green Week, Inten said.

The Indonesian Ulema Council yesterday joined in the official campaign to encourage Moslems to pay their taxes to the government.

The council's chairman, Hasan Basri said that as Indonesian citizens, Indonesian Moslems are obliged to pay their taxes to the government in addition to paying zakat, the obligatory Moslem tax and alms.

"Paying taxes to the state is the obligation of every citizen to ensure the government's development program," Hasan said during a meeting between tax officials and members of all the council's chapters in Kalimantan on Monday, Antara reported.

Hasan said the ulemas have a duty to help tax officials inform members of the public of their tax obligations to the state.

The campaign was launched as the tax office prepares to close its books on Dec. 31 for 1994 land and property taxes. (sim/emb)