The National Board of Zakat (BAZNAS) of Ambon City participated in a national scientific forum to discuss new breakthroughs in managing community funds. In the virtual forum, BAZNAS Knowledge Sharing Session 10, held on Tuesday (14/7/2026), the focus of the discussion was directed toward the utilization of zakat funds sourced from Sharia deposit yields to finance BPJS Kesehatan premiums for the elderly from underprivileged families.
This interactive discussion featured several Sharia economics experts, including the Rector of UIN Sunan Kudus, Prof. Dr. H. Abduurohman Kasdi, Lc., M.Si., Vice Dean I of FEBI UIN Sunan Kudus, Dr. H. Murtadho Ridwan, Lc., M.Sh., and Islamic Finance academic Iqbal Faza, M.E. The speakers presented academic studies on how optimizing zakat funds from Sharia investments can be allocated to guarantee the health rights of the poor elderly.
This concept is deemed capable of shifting the paradigm of zakat distribution from mere short-term consumptive aid to a sustainable social protection program. Through synergy between zakat agencies, Sharia financial institutions, the government, and academics, it is hoped that health insurance for vulnerable groups can be met independently and sustainably.
The Chairman of BAZNAS Ambon City, Muhammad Zulkifly Fakaubun, welcomed the idea. According to him, this innovation provides a fresh perspective for zakat managers at the regional level to design more relevant and impactful empowerment programs. He emphasized the importance of adopting academic research in formulating zakat distribution policies so that the programs run are more targeted.
Echoing this, Jihan Abbas, Staff of Collection and Digitalization at BAZNAS Ambon City, added that this weekly activity is a crucial tool for human resource capacity building. It is hoped that knowledge regarding the integration of zakat with national health insurance can be adapted into local work programs to improve the quality of life for mustahik (zakat recipients) in Ambon City.
