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UNAIR NEWS – A leading humanitarian institution, Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT), is drawing public attention due to Tempo magazine’s investigation story published on Saturday, July 2, 2022, (2/7/2022). The NGO was suspected of misappropriating funds from public donations. The investigative report entitled “Kantong Bocor Dana Umat” highlighted the peculiarities of ACT’s management of humanitarian funds.

This is certainly very surprising, so far, ACT has been known as a philanthropic NGO that has always been at the forefront of responding to humanitarian disasters, both domestically and abroad.

Responding to the controversy, ������ (UNAIR) Islamic Economics expert, Dr. Imron Mawardi SP MSi, said that he was actually highlighting the financial management of ACT because ACT uses 13.7 percent of the donated funds for operational needs when in government regulation PP No. 29 of 1980 concerning the Implementation of Donation Collection, it is stated that the use of donated funds for operations is at most 10 percent.

“Yes, there is a violation here, and if there is a violation, it has been going on for a long time. It also raises a question, where is the government’s position in supervising public funds? Especially funds received by such philanthropic institutions,” said on Monday, July 11, 2022.

Sincerity in devotion

Furthermore he also highlighted the community’s view on devotion. According to him, the public still relates sincerity with the prohibition of receiving wealth or rewards from the results of humanitarian institution performance when in fact, the management of people’s funds also requires knowledge and professionalism. Moreover, the managed funds are not small amounts.

“If they get a high salary, for me, actually, it’s normal. It means that social workers should be no different from business people, who should also be managed by professionals. But how the news presented it was too much,” he said on leadership’s salary, which was considered too large.

Transparency is key

He realized that this case would have an impact on reducing public confidence in philanthropic institutions. According to him, it is a shared task to gain the public’s trust again, especially for the institution. One of them is financial transparency.

“Anyone who manages public funds is called a public institution. Moreover, it is bound by the provisions that it must be transparent, accountable, and its use is adjusted to the rules of public institutions,” he said.

Fund transparency, continued Imron, will certainly provide peace and satisfaction for donors. On the other hand, transparency also includes programs. For him, the programs offered by the institution must be clear about the target, the need for donations, and the distributions.

Government is too reactive

On the other hand, he regretted the attitude of the government and society, which was too reactive. The suspension and revocation of permits are considered too early. For him, the government’s supervisory function is not running well.

“It should be investigated first, audited, then coached. The Ministry of Social Affairs, which gives the permit, should also supervise, why this happen, after so many years,”

In the end, he advised the public to be more careful in donating their wealth. Also, he hoped them not justify and react quickly. “If there is one problem, it doesn’t mean that all philanthropic institutions are bad,” he concluded.

Author: Afrizal Naufal Ghani

Editor : Nuri Hermawan