Author Maria Wenda | Editor
Controlling problematic humanitarian institutions is a form of our concern for fellow human beings. Because humanitarian agencies are intermediaries between humans to share happiness with the needy.
The misappropriation of funds from humanitarian agencies that are widely known by the Indonesian people is a hot issue that has been rolling for some time. The Quick Response Philanthropic Institute (ACT) has been in the spotlight for allegedly misappropriating social and humanitarian donations.
The main suspicion of fraud was in giving very high income to ACT officials. A report from Tempo magazine states that this institution often makes very high deductions from the total donations that should be received by recipients. Furthermore, this institution also uses operational funds excessively.
As the largest philanthropic institution in Indonesia, in 2018 to 2020, ACT was said to have collected Rp. 500 billion. The funds are intended to be used for various humanitarian programs ranging from helping victims of natural disasters, building schools, and building places of worship. However, in practice, the management of the humanitarian fund was suspected to be problematic, and involved the name of the former ACT President, Ahyudin, into the case.
Ahyudin is suspected of using funds from the institution he leads for personal gain. He is said to have used public funds to buy houses and furniture at high prices. This institution’s wastage of money also occurs by providing luxurious facilities and high salaries to its top ranks. Luxurious facilities provided by ACT to its senior officers, such as Toyota Alphard, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, and Honda CRV. ACT also provides a fantastic salary of up to Rp. 250 million to the leader. A thing that is contrary to the true nature of philanthropy.
Philanthropy is a form of love by way of generosity to others. The spirit of philanthropy in Indonesia contributes to the achievement of social justice and sustainable development in Indonesia. Philanthropy researcher, Hamid Abidin explained that ACT made a very large cut in the donation funds it managed to reach 13.5%. He refers to Government Regulation Number 10 of 1980 concerning the Implementation of Donation Collection which states that the maximum discount for social donations is only 10%, while zakat, infaq and alms are a maximum of 12.5%.
For information, a humanitarian agency is a form of social institution that provides humanitarian assistance to those in need. The parties who are entitled to receive assistance from this humanitarian agency are victims of natural phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, volcanic eruptions, and others. Apart from natural phenomena, those who are entitled to receive assistance from humanitarian agencies are victims of war, the poor, the sick, and certain parties who really need assistance due to special conditions.
Humanitarian organizations can work in various fields. Several humanitarian agencies specialize in helping education, migrant workers, taking care of refugees, war victims, victims of natural disasters, and others. From the scope of their movement, there are humanitarian institutions that operate at the international, national and regional levels.
The movement of humanitarian institutions is usually based on a certain religious, ethnic, racial, or national background, but there are also those that cross all of them. Humanitarian institutions can be formed by the government, a combination of governments, and some are formed by civil society.
ACT is a social and humanitarian foundation which was officially launched on April 21, 2005. This institution carries out emergency response activities, post-disaster recovery programs, community empowerment and development, as well as spiritual-based programs such as qurban, zakat, and waqf. ACT is supported by public donors from the community and builds company participation through partnership programs through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
In addition to providing fantastic salaries for high-ranking officials and wasting donations, the foundation, which operates in the social sector, is suspected of committing other misappropriations of its organization’s funds. Head of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) Ivan Yustiavandana said that his party had long studied the issue of irregularities in the management of donations by ACT.
The findings of misappropriation of donation funds by ACT have been submitted to the Special Detachment (Densus) 88 of the National Police for Anti-terrorism and the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT). BNPT Prevention Director Brigadier General Ahmad Nurwakhid said the data provided by PPATK was intelligence data that still needed further study and deepening.
*)The author is a contributor to Pertiwi Institute
