The National Board of Zakat (BAZNAS) organized an important program called “National Data Entry” as an effort to integrate information of Zakat into a management system known as SiMBA. SiMBA is an online zakat system, which will be applied by BAZNAS and LAZ (private and society-based zakat institutions) at all levels. BAZNAS from all 34 provinces participated in the program to input the data manually into SiMBA started from Monday (3/10) until Wednesday (5/10). Governors of respective province officially opened the program at each location.
The National Board of Zakat (BAZNAS) of Republic Indonesia monitored the program on Wednesday (5/10) at the Ministry of Religious Affairs headquarter. Minister of Religious Affairs, Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, and BAZNAS Chairman, Prof Bambang Sudibyo, attended the program.
BAZNAS chairman stated that SiMBA was the first step to digitize the data of zakat management in Indonesia. “With this system, all of documents and reports made by BAZNAS and LAZ will be integrated systematically”, he said in a press conference. The data entry encompassed collection and disbursement data, database of muzaki and mustahik, and also the data of zakat institutions throughout the country.
This integration aims at producing valid and reliable National zakat management report for the period of January-August 2016. It also includes the profile of BAZNAS province, and BAZNAS at regency/city level from all parts of the country. It is expected that SiMBA will be the key to facilitate the preparation of annual National Report of Zakat Management as required by the Zakat Management Act No. 23/2011.
As for LAZ, although they are given autonomy to develop their own system, but integrating their system into SiMBA is mandatory. Prof Bambang said that this integration will allow BAZNAS to monitor zakat management of LAZ and perform BAZNAS role as coordinating agency of zakat. (republika.co.id; rd/puskas)