MAKASSAR – Mayor of Makassar Moh. Ramdhan “Danny” Pomanto has been named the Indonesian Zakat Ambassador.
The coronation was carried out by the Indonesian National Zakat Amil Agency (Baznas RI) represented by the Chairman of Baznas RI, East Indonesia Regional Coordinator KH. Achmad Sudrajat, Lc at the City of Makassar Pavilion after the Makassar Congregational Morning Prayer Movement on Saturday (18/5).
Danny Pomanto was chosen as the national zakat ambassador because of his commitment to zakat.
This can be seen from the many innovations initiated directly by Danny regarding zakat.
Starting from the allocation of grant funds for Baznas, which is the highest in South Sulawesi. Government policy in encouraging ASN and BUMD to pay zakat and donate to Baznas.
Not only that, there is also Lorong Zakat, the highest zakat contributor in Indonesia and recently Danny also appointed 5,975 people in charge of RT/RW throughout Makassar City as individual administrators to support the Makassar City Government for Makassar Baznas activities.
This is Danny Pomanto’s focus in promoting the love of zakat in Makassar City.
“Alhamdulillah, today I was named the national zakat ambassador by Baznas RI. Actually, this coronation is for the people of Makassar City. Since they love giving zakat, we ended up becoming the highest zakat contributor and we were crowned as ambassadors,” he said.
Danny revealed that the potential for zakat in Makassar City could reach IDR 1.4 trillion. Therefore, he hopes that the work of RT/RW who have been appointed as individual amil can help discover unexplored zakat potential.
“This is the result of our discussions with Baznas and it was realized today. If the potential of this zakat can be touched, Insha Allah, the people of Makassar city will be more prosperous and the distribution of zakat can be evenly distributed,” he said.
He also added that zakat is one of the main supporting factors in strengthening the faith of the people, which is also his vision and mission.
“I invite all communities to strengthen and protect their respective religions. Zakat is a support so that we are not easily divided between people,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Baznas RI East Indonesia Regional Coordinator KH. Achmad Sudrajat, Lc in his speech said that this coronation was because he saw that the city of Makassar, under the leadership of Danny Pomanto, was very focused on distributing zakat.
“The team at the center looked at the graph of a city whose zakat contribution continues to increase significantly, even the highest in Indonesia, namely Makassar City. Therefore, we have taken the initiative to appoint the Mayor to become a Baznas Ambassador,” he said.
He also mentioned that the formulation to mobilize RT/RW as individual amil was the first formulation in the world and in Indonesia.
“From Makassar to the world. Mr. Danny is really concerned about zakat. This formulation is the first in the world thanks to an idea from the Mayor of Makassar,” he explained.
He hopes that the goodness of existing programs, especially those related to zakat, will continue for the safety and welfare of the people, especially in Makassar City.
