Moslems' special fund worth Rp 300 billion

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher said yesterday the special fund for Moslems at Bank Indonesia was worth Rp 300 billion (approximately US$125 million) and would increase to Rp 1.3 trillion by 2019.

"The assets are derived from five years of smart saving by Bank Indonesia (the central bank)," Tarmizi was quoted by Antara as saying in Surabaya.

"Since 1992, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has received credits allocated for organizing the pilgrimage to Mecca from Bank Indonesia," the minister told about 400 ulemas, public figures and top officials in East Java.

"The credits are managed by a board which organizes expenses for pilgrimages to Mecca, known as BP-ONH," he said.

Tarmizi said the fund differed from the fund for haj fees, which would-be pilgrims had to pay to appointed banks. This year, a would-be pilgrimage paid a total Rp7.5 million in fees.

"All haj fees are used to pay for the passage of pilgrims," he said.

The minister then encouraged the ulemas, who manage Islamic boarding schools in East Java, to apply for assistance from the fund to improve infrastructure and other facilities at their schools.

"Send in your letters of request for funds to BP-ONH by enclosing a recommendation from the head of the regional religious affairs office," he said.

"President Soeharto has ordered me to discuss the use of these assets with leaders of Islamic organizations in Indonesia, so that they can be managed transparently," he added.

The country has about 7,000 Islamic boarding schools (pesantren).

Tarmizi said the assets could also fund Islamic education. The fund manager's board is chaired by Tarmizi and its chief patron is President Soeharto, who heads the Amal Bhakti Muslim Pancasila Foundation for Moslem charity.

Tarmizi told the meeting, which was held to discuss recent unrest, that the country could not increase its annual quota of haj pilgrims from 200,000.

"That's Saudi Arabia's policy, which was decided by its ulemas, and it must be adhered to," he said.

He said Indonesia had among the largest number of pilgrims. "Don't ask for an increased quota," he said. (swe)