Thursday, October 30, 2025 – Baitul Mal Aceh (BMA) organized a technical training session for all district and city Baitul Mal institutions across the Aceh Province. The event was attended by Dr. Sutan Emir Hidayat, MBA, Director of Sharia Ecosystem Infrastructure; Dr. M. Hasbi Zaenal, Ph.D, Director of National ZIS–DSKL Research and Development; and Sandika Passadini, Junior Expert Planner from Bappenas.
The session was officially opened by BMA Board Member Khairina, S.T., who emphasized that the National Zakat Index (IZN) serves as a vital performance measurement tool for zakat management institutions. “All city and district Baitul Mal offices must be ready to participate in completing the IZN and set an example for zakat institutions across Indonesia,” said Khairina.
The National Zakat Index has been implemented since 2017, making this year its ninth cycle. This year is particularly significant, as the IZN has now been incorporated as a national development indicator, which automatically becomes part of the performance metrics for regional governments.
Dr. Sutan Emir highlighted that the IZN represents a collective commitment to advancing community development. The integration of IZN into the Regional Government Information System (SIPD) and the Regional Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMD) strengthens the role of Islamic economics at the local level. Similarly, Sandika from Bappenas noted, “Policies related to zakat have already been included in Aceh’s long-term (RPJPA) and medium-term (RPJMA) development plans. Therefore, it is crucial for all BMA and BMK institutions in Aceh Province to approach the IZN process with precision and commitment.”
The Government of Aceh has officially adopted the IZN as a regional development indicator, together with seven districts and cities: Aceh Selatan, Bireuen, Gayo Lues, Aceh Jaya, Aceh Tamiang, Lhokseumawe, and Subulussalam. Dr. M. Hasbi Zaenal reminded participants that Aceh’s IZN performance has shown fluctuations. In 2024, BMA achieved an impressive score of 0.89, categorized as sustainable. However, several BMA institutions still need improvement. The average IZN score across Aceh Province in 2024 was 0.53, which falls into the stable category. “We have provided a color-coded matrix table indicating the data quality for each indicator, variable, and dimension. Green indicates excellent performance, while red and pink signal critical issues. Yellow represents stability,” explained Hasbi Zaenal.
The event continued with a technical workshop on completing the IZN and the Zakat Impact Study (KDZ), led by BAZNAS researcher Herlin, M.Si. This session covered practical instructions for completing the questionnaire through Sigma-Z, BAZNAS’s official research and analytics platform. It also included in-depth discussions about IZN indicators and shared practical strategies for performance evaluation based on IZN results.
All participants expressed their commitment to fully complete the IZN and KDZ assessments and to achieve maximum performance ratings within the sustainable category, reaffirming Aceh’s readiness to become a national benchmark in zakat governance.