Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Alms Agency (Baznas) and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) have agreed to collaborate to utilize zakat (alms), infak (donation), and sedekah (voluntary charity) funds to tackle drug abuse in Indonesia.The collaboration was marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Jakarta on Monday.
"Eradicating drug abuse is our shared responsibility. By optimizing ZIS (zakat, infak, and sedekah), we can channel funds to programs that have a direct impact on combating drugs," Baznas chairperson Noor Achmad said in a statement issued here on Tuesday.
He informed that one of the programs that will be carried out is increasing ZIS fund collection at BNN offices across Indonesia.
Achmad said that the collected ZIS funds will be used for various programs for drug abuse eradication, such as rehabilitation, prevention, and dissemination of information. According to him, the cooperation has been motivated by the urgent need to eradicate drug abuse, which has a very strong basis in religious teachings.
The MoU, he said, aims to increase awareness among drug users and dealers of the importance of diverting funds that have been used for negative activities into positive activities. BNN head Marthinus Hukom welcomed the cooperation, which, according to him, is a step forward in efforts to fight drug abuse.
"By optimizing ZIS, we can provide alternatives for drug users to improve their lives," he explained.
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He noted that drugs are a humanitarian and moral disaster, with 3.33 million Indonesian citizens trapped in the cycle of drug abuse. Therefore, he expressed the hope that cooperation with Baznas can be a strategic step to help drug users switch to positive activities.
"The cooperation with Baznas is a commitment of the two institutions to jointly realizing Indonesia that is free from drugs as well as jointly improving the quality of life and build moral resilience of drug abuse survivors," he said.