Jakarta`s poor to enjoy sacrificial animal meat

The poverty-stricken dwellers in Jakarta and across the country received rations of sacrificial meat on Tuesday when Muslims celebrated the Idul Adha Islamic Day of Sacrifice.

The Jakarta regional government distributed 1,750 meat-package coupons to Jakarta`s "mustahik," or underprivileged residents.

"The South Jakarta regional government contributed 36 cows, and the East Jakarta administration donated 46 goats. City Hall provided 21 cows and 41 goats," Sugeng, secretary of the Jakarta Civil Servant Corps, said at City Hall on Tuesday.

The sacrificial animals were slaughtered at the PD Dharma Jaya slaughterhouse in Cakung, East Jakarta. The coupons were distributed to registered mustahik living within the Jakarta regional government`s jurisdiction.

"Each recipient will be provided with some 1.5 to 2 kilograms of meat," Sugeng stated.

In addition, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono presented a cow weighing more than one ton to the Istiqlal Mosque`s committee.

The mosque has received 45 cows and eight goats for slaughter, including two cows from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono; one cow from the Minister of Religious Affairs Suryadharma Ali; one cow from Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan; and two cows from the eldest daughter of former president Soeharto, Siti Hardijanti Rukmana.

Previously, Presidential Spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha had said in a short text message to Antara that the president and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono would present the sacrificial animal to the committee after performing the Idul Adha prayers on Tuesday morning.

As in previous years, President Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono said their Idul Adha prayers at the Istiqlal mosque. Every Idul Adha, the largest mosque in the country receives tens of sacrificial animals, and the meat must be distributed to the poor.

"We will distribute six thousand coupons after the sacrifice of goats and cows ceremony," said Chairman of Istiqlal Mosque Management Mubarak here on Tuesday.

The mosque plans to begin the animal slaughter after the Isa Prayer at 7:30 p.m. in the Istiqlal slaughterhouses.

"We have a slaughterhouse in the neighborhood of the mosque. We use it every year to sacrifice the animals during Idul Adha," Mubarak added.

The Istiqlal has cooperated with the Jakarta Animal Husbandry sub-official of the DKI Jakarta Administration to check whether the sacrificial animals are fit for human consumption.

Mubarak said the mosque will continue to accept sacrificial animals from individuals who want to slaughter them at Istiqlal until 3 p.m.

"We will continue to receive animals for sacrifice up to the Ashar prayer, or 3:30 p.m., before the animals enter the slaughterhouse," he remarked.

Besides the Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta`s well-known Sunda Kelapa Mosque in Central Jakarta also produced at least two thousand packages of sacrificial meat.

"We do not distribute coupons, but we have prepared some two thousand packages of meat to be given directly to the rightful recipients who come here," coordinator of Sunda Kelapa Mosque`s Day of Sacrifice Mulyadi said.

He explained that recipients had been asked to sit in the mosque square outside in an orderly fashion while the organizers distributed the meat to them to avoid any jostling while they waited their turn.

"This year, we received 94 goats and 27 cows, and the meat will be distributed to the needy. The number of sacrificial animals we`ve received this year is smaller than that of last year, which stood at 114 goats and 21 cows," added Mulyadi.

The At-Tin Grand Mosque, which is located near the Indonesian-In Miniature Park (TMII) in East Jakarta, also distributed about six thousand packages of sacrificial meat to the poor.

"We distributed 160 meat coupons to the people. One coupon provides 30-50 packages of meat, weighing 3 kilograms each," the mosque`s Sacrificial Day chief organizer Wahyudi stated.

He noted that the coupons would be given to the poor, particularly those living around the mosque, and an orphanage foundation. The coupons were handed directly to deserving candidates, so they wouldn`t have to queue up to receive the packages.

The At-Tin Grand Mosque this year slaughtered 31 cows and 2 goats. "Thirty cows were contributed by the late Soeharto`s family members, while one cow and two goats came from local residents," Wahyudi confirmed.

In the meantime, the Al Furqon Mosque of the Indonesian Islamic Propagation Council (DDII) distributed sacrificial animals to villagers in several isolated regions across Indonesia.

"To distribute the meat, we cooperate with our preachers in isolated areas such as regions in East Nusa Tenggara, Mentawai, Nias, and Gunung Kidul. We also have one representative to deliver meat to the Anak Dalam isolated tribesmen in the Sorolangung District, Jambi," Bachtiar Bakar, chairman of the Al Furqon Mosque, acknowledged.

He claimed his side had distributed some 1.3 thousand coupons to recipients in Jakarta, which they could use to accept packages at three locations in Jakarta.

For the nationwide distribution of sacrificial meat, the National Police`s social organization partner "Senkom Mitra Polri" devoted itself to the task, helping to distribute some 7,501 cows and 6,858 goats for slaughter in various parts of the country on the Day of Sacrifice.

"The data still accounted for only half of the animals we expected to come from the country`s 34 provinces. The organization was still waiting for further reports on the number of sacrificial animals being donated until three days ago," Deputy Secretary General of Senkom Mitra Polri Taufik Wibisono pointed out in a written statement on Tuesday.

"Artha Graha Peduli," a social foundation under the auspices of the Artha Graha Network, in the meantime, cooperated with social foundations throughout the country to distribute sacrificial meat. 

"We not only distribute meat to the recipients but also have cordial meetings with them, so we can cooperate in improving their welfare in the future," Artha Graha Peduli Idul Adha Coordinator Anas said.

He said his foundation had distributed some 500 sacrificial animals this year, including cows, buffaloes, and goats. This was double the number of animals it had provided last year

Source: ANTARA