SORONG, WEST PAPUA – Vice President K.H. Ma’ruf Amin emphasized that sharia economy and finance is not a concept that is only intended for Muslims and according to him this practice has been widely accepted by all circles of society because of its inclusive nature and prioritizes justice, even in the global order, the Vice President noted, countries with non-Muslim majority populations have actually reaped opportunities and benefits from the rapid development of Islamic economics and finance, for example, Brazil, Australia, and Thailand are leading the export of halal food products. South Korea and Japan have also consistently developed Muslim-friendly tourism, and the UK has made its country the center of the Islamic financial market,” the Vice President said.
Domestically, the Government also continues to encourage the development of Islamic economics and finance as one of the engines of economic growth, “therefore, we want Indonesia in the future not only to become the largest consumer, the largest halal consumer, but we want to become the largest halal producer in the world,” the Vice President said.        Â
The Vice President assessed that various other regions have also reaped the benefits of sharia economy and finance in the development and distribution of welfare. One of them, the Vice President reminded about the great potential of Southwest Papua in the field of tourism that can be explored and developed with the concept of sharia (Muslim friendly), besides that by implementing halal certification, the Vice President believes that Southwest Papua MSME products will be of higher quality and able to penetrate the world export market, as well as fulfill the domestic market which is also very large, “this is a great opportunity and Southwest Papua Province is quick to take this opportunity by forming the first KDEKS in the Papua region,” the Vice President said.
In line with the Vice President, the Acting Governor of Southwest Papua Mohammad Musa’ad in his report said that sharia economy and finance is one of the new pillars of strength to support national economic resilience and development, as well as improve people’s welfare, “with the modality of existing and prospective potential resources in Southwest Papua and Papua in general, with government support through the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS), we are determined to make Southwest Papua Province the center of sharia economic and financial development in Papua,” Mohammad said.
Present at this event, namely:
- Plt. Executive Director of the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance Taufik Hidayat,
- Acting Regional Secretary of Southwest Papua Province and members of the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda) of Southwest Papua Province,
- Acting Mayor of Sorong City Septinus Lobat,
- Acting Regent of Tambrauw Engelbertus G. Kocu,
- South Sorong Regent Samsudin Anggiluli,
- Acting Regent of Maybrat Benhard E. Rondonuwu,
- Acting Regent of Sorong Edison Siagian,
- The entire management of KDEKS Southwest Papua Province.
In this event the Vice President was accompanied by:
- Deputy Minister of Home Affairs John Wempi Wetipo,
- PIh. Deputy for Government Policy Support and National Insight Suprayoga Hadi,
- Deputy for Administration Sapto Harjono,
- Vice President’s Special Staff for Communication and Information Masduki Baidlowi,
- Vice Presidential Staffer for General Affairs Masykuri Abdillah,
- Vice Presidential Staffer for Poverty Alleviation and Regional Autonomy Muhammad Imam Aziz,
- Vice President for Politics and Institutional Relations Robikin Emhas,
- Vice President Expert Team Johan Tedja. (EP/SK-BPMI, Setwapres)