UNAIR NEWS – Waqf is the highest level of philanthropy in Islam. The Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) Center for Social Fund Management (PUSPAS) is a waqf management work unit in UNAIR that has been officially certified by Indonesian Waqf Agency (BWI) in August 2018.
As the first university in Indonesia that has been certified as Nazir Wakaf (waqf managing body), UNAIR provides an introduction to managing cash waqf to 41 student exchange program participants from Prince of Songkla University Thailand. The event was held as the Campus Tour agenda, on Wednesday, March 27, 2019. Twenty-one students of the Islamic Economics Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) UNAIR participated in the event.
Seeing the current condition, waqf is only in the form of mosques and land, Laily Hidayati, S. Kep., Ns., M.Kep., states that cash waqf is a type of waqf that allows applicants from members of community. With only a thousand rupiah, for example, someone can create waqf and get a reward,” she said during presentation in the plenary room of UNAIR Management Office.
Based on government regulations, continued Hidayati, sixty percent of waqf funds is channeled to financial investment, and the rest (forty percent) is channeled to the real sector, such as the construction and management of canteens, libraries, and so on.
Regarding the management of cash waqf, the Head of PUSPAS UNAIR Dr. Tika Widiastuti, SE., M.Si., explained that the main focus of cash waqf management carried out by PUSPAS was charitable donations and endowments. She also stated that the targets of cash waqf is for education, research, community services, operational events, and many more.
“The various procedures we prepared are very easy and practical, so applicants or cash waqf applicants will not feel any difficulties,” she added.
Vice Rector I, Prof. Djoko Santoso, dr., Ph.D., Sp.PD., K-GH., FINASIM., said that the BWI certification, UNAIR as the only nazir university, can be a trigger towards Top 500 World Class University (WCU).
Hopefully, UNAIR will no longer depend on funds provided by the government , but can manage its own funding sources from the cash waqf in the future.
The presentation on cash waqf management was intended to provide education and motivation to students of Prince of Songkla University Thailand. Hopefully Prince of Songkla University Thailand can balance the management between zakat and waqf by applying the procedures that have been presented by PUSPAS UNAIR.
In the end of the event, a token of appreciation was handed over by Prof. Djoko Santoso, dr., Ph.D., Sp. PD., K-GH., FINASIM., to the lecturer representative from Prince of Songkla University Thailand. (*)
Author: Shofiyyatul Mahrushah
Editor: Zanna Afia Deswari
