President Jokowi in Bengkulu to Distribute Waqf Land Certificates

President Jokowi distributes waqf land certificates at Baitul Izzah Mosque, Padang Harapan, Gading Cempaka, Bengkulu City, Bengkulu, Friday (15/2). (Photo by: Jay/Public Relations).

As a part of the working visits in Bengkulu, President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo on Friday (15/2) distributed waqf (religious endowment) land certificates to mosque administrators, funeral administrators, Muhammadiyah education facilities administrators, and schools with a total area of 29,672 meter square.

The distribution ceremony took place at Baitul Izzah Mosque in Bengkulu City, Bengkulu.

President Jokowi in his remarks said that the distribution of waqf certificates is carried out to avoid more land disputes, which according to the President, occurr even on waqf lands.

“In Jakarta, there is a large mosque located in a strategic area. At first, there was no problem, but once the price of the land on which the mosque is located rose to Rp120 million per meter a dispute ensued over the land rights,” he said, adding the same conflict also occurred in other provinces.

Therefore, President Jokowi has ordered Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (BPN) to speed up the issuance of the certificates. “We hope there will be no more disputes like the one I just told you,” he added.

Furthermore, the Government will also prioritize issuing and distributing waqf land certificate. According to the President, there are 800,000 mosques and musala, as well as 29,000 Islamic boarding schools and madrasa all over the country. He also expressed hopes that by distributing waqf certificates, there will be no more legal disputes in the future. (FID/JAY/ES)

Translated by: Galuh Wicaksono
Edited by: Muhammad Ersan Pamungkas