ID :
19793
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 19:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/19793
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GOVT DENIES PASURUAN TRAGEDY SHOWED INCREASED POVERTY
Jakarta, Sept 16 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government doesn't see any correlation between the Pasuruan tragedy (in which 21 poor people were trampled to death in a rush to receive a Rp.30,000 per person tithe) with the country's poverty rate, a spokesman said.
Minister/State Secretary Hatta Radjasa stated here Tuesday the tragedy had not in any way negated or disproved the government's recent pronouncement that the poverty rate was dropping.
"It (the tragedy) doesn't show anything. Our poverty rate is declining. The tragedy doesn't negate our data. Therefore, it should not be linked to the number of the country's poor," he said.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his state-of-the-nation speech at a House of Representatives (DPR)' plenary session last August 15, 2008 had stated the poverty rate in 2008 was the lowest in the past 10 years.
The poverty rate had declined from 17.7 percent in 2006 to 15/4 percent in March 2008, he said.
The president also said state budget allocations for poverty-eradication programs had increased three-fold over the past three years.
Radjasa said the president was very concerned about the Pasuruan incident and expressed sympathy for the poor people affected."The president conveyed his condolences to the victims' families," he said.
The president had asked the religious affairs minister to give explanations to the people about the mechanism to make zakat (tithe) donations in a safe and religiously-correct way. "So that no more people need to get hurt," be said.
According to the minister, the Pasuruan tragedy had happened because the tithe distribution committee was unable to handle the mass of people who had come to the place where the tithes were handed out.
The minister noted the government actually had an official organization named Badan Zakat Nasional (Bazasnas) which donors can use to channel their tithes to the poor.
"When they donate through Bazasnas, people need not worry that their tithes will not reach the intended recipients because Bazasnas is a professional tithe redistribution body," he said.
Minister/State Secretary Hatta Radjasa stated here Tuesday the tragedy had not in any way negated or disproved the government's recent pronouncement that the poverty rate was dropping.
"It (the tragedy) doesn't show anything. Our poverty rate is declining. The tragedy doesn't negate our data. Therefore, it should not be linked to the number of the country's poor," he said.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his state-of-the-nation speech at a House of Representatives (DPR)' plenary session last August 15, 2008 had stated the poverty rate in 2008 was the lowest in the past 10 years.
The poverty rate had declined from 17.7 percent in 2006 to 15/4 percent in March 2008, he said.
The president also said state budget allocations for poverty-eradication programs had increased three-fold over the past three years.
Radjasa said the president was very concerned about the Pasuruan incident and expressed sympathy for the poor people affected."The president conveyed his condolences to the victims' families," he said.
The president had asked the religious affairs minister to give explanations to the people about the mechanism to make zakat (tithe) donations in a safe and religiously-correct way. "So that no more people need to get hurt," be said.
According to the minister, the Pasuruan tragedy had happened because the tithe distribution committee was unable to handle the mass of people who had come to the place where the tithes were handed out.
The minister noted the government actually had an official organization named Badan Zakat Nasional (Bazasnas) which donors can use to channel their tithes to the poor.
"When they donate through Bazasnas, people need not worry that their tithes will not reach the intended recipients because Bazasnas is a professional tithe redistribution body," he said.
