MUI: State Budget-Funded Presidential Assistance Qurban Cows Permissible Under Sharia and Constitution

Jakarta - Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), KH Marsudi Syuhud, stated that sacrificial cattle under the presidential assistance (banpres) programme using the State Budget (APBN) are permissible under Islamic law and fully constitutional under national law.

KH Marsudi Syuhud clarified that public controversy regarding President Prabowo Subianto’s provision of qurban cattle stemmed from communication technicalities, with some mistakenly believing the cattle were the President’s personal sacrifice.

‘The public must understand that these are cattle provided by the President for community qurban. The controversy has arisen because some believe it is the President’s personal sacrifice, yet uses state budget,’ said Kiai Marsudi in a statement.

Kiai Marsudi said the communication technicalities that sparked the controversy involved Deputy Minister of the State Secretariat Juri Ardiantoro, who summarised the explanation when communicating the information to the public.

‘I believe the Deputy Minister of the State Secretariat’s intention was to state that these are presidential assistance qurban cattle, abbreviated as Banpres. It was merely to clarify, as there were still shortcomings in the explanation provided,’ he added.

Under Sharia law, Kiai Marsudi explained that a head of state providing qurban for the public using state funds has strong legal grounds and is encouraged.

In his explanation, Kiai Marsudi referred to the fiqh principle ‘wayusannu lil imami ayudhya min baitil mali anil muslimin badanatan’, which translates to it being recommended for an imam, head of state, or president to provide qurban assistance funded from the state treasury.

‘From a policy perspective, the government’s decision serves the public good. The key is the intention to implement an approved budget with clear regulations,’ said Kiai Marsudi.

‘The law and regulations are clear; that is the crux. Hopefully this can continue in the future,’ he added.