Jakarta – The Jakarta administration will have to rethink its plan to increase public awareness about paying taxes in an SMS reward program after the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) declared it prohibited by Islam.
MUI Jakarta edict commission secretary M. Cholil Nafis said Friday that the council decided the program verged on gambling – and was thus haram – after examining the 2006 gubernatorial regulation on the program. But Cholil added that there was still the chance to make changes to the program to allow it to conform to Islamic tenets.
The Jakarta Revenue Agency devised the program in an attempt to increase people's awareness of paying taxes and increase city revenue.
Under the scheme, the public was to report the amount of taxes they paid for leisure activities – such as dining out or entertainment – by sending an SMS with the receipt number. Participants could win a car through a lottery drawing to be held every six months.
The agency postponed the scheduled June start date to allow the MUI to determine its status under Islam.
Cholil said that the gubernatorial regulation stated that for the first year of the program, the prize for the winner would be taken from the city budget. However, for the second and third year, PT Haltek, the city's private partner for the program, would provide the prize.
He said the council initially viewed the use of the city budget for the prize as syubhat, or not clear in its halal or haram status. "The council then decided that it was haram, because the rate for one SMS was above the standard one," he said. The rate is Rp 1,000, compared to standard Rp 250 or Rp 350 rates.
He added that the program was undoubtedly haram if the prize was provided by PT Haltek and not from the city budget. "If the prize is provided by PT Haltek, it means that there is no middle party between the participating public and PT Haltek, which means that the program is classified as gambling."
Cholil said that the council recommended the city revise clause No. 13 of the gubernatorial decree, which regulated PT Haltek to provide the prize for the second and third years.
He said the revision of the gubernatorial regulation was vital to prevent the public from gambling through the program. "The program can be carried out if the prize is provided by the city and the SMS rate is a standard one," he said.
In May, MUI released an edict stating that the flourishing SMS reward programs were equivalent to gambling. The council viewed them as gambling because of their negative effect on people's lives, including wasting their money, creating fantasies and addiction, and causing them to be lazy.
City secretary Catur Laswono told The Jakarta Post that the administration had still to decide if it would call off the program altogether following the fatwa. "We will first look at what changes can be made to the program," he said.