Back to Home Page Print January 11, 2006

ANTHRAX FREE: Two boys play close to cows by a roadside in East Jakarta with a banner in the background claiming that the animals are free of anthrax and mad cow disease. Traders have been selling animals to be slaughtered, such as cows and goats, at roadsides in many parts of Jakarta as Idul Adha (Islamic Day of Sacrifice) draws near. Cows are sold at between Rp 8.5 million and Rp 14 million per head. (JP/P.J. Leo

A QUIET STRUGGLE: Teenagers press up against a metal divider at the Istiqlal Grand Mosque while waiting to receive free meat. There was a minor scuffle at the Central Jakarta mosque on Tuesday, as people who had waited since morning for the meat tried to shove their way to the front of the line. (JP/P.J. Leo)

 

 

Donors use ATM for Idul Adha

Abdul Khalik and Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bogor

As a busy businessman, Hartono Salam, 39, was relieved that he did not have to scout around for a healthy sacrificial goat or cow for Idul Adha because he could arrange everything through an ATM transaction.

"I transferred Rp 1,370,000 through my BNI card to Dompet Dhuafa's account for two goats. With the transfer, I have done my duty for Idul Adha. The rest will be taken care by BNI and Dompet Dhuafa," he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Hartono said he would have been required to transfer Rp 5.55 million if he had wanted to sacrifice a cow.

Each Muslim who finds it affordable is obliged to donate a sacrificial animal, such as a goat, a sheep, a buffalo or a cow to those less fortunate on Idul Adha (Islamic Day of Sacrifice), which falls on Tuesday.

Many traders have been selling goats, sheep or cows along the roads in many parts of the capital.

Hartono said that in previous years he spent hours finding a healthy sacrificial animal and then spent several hours more to find a suitable place to which to donate it.

"It was time consuming and tiring. Often it is hard to know if the animal we buy is health enough," he said.

Dompet Dhuafa, set up by Republika daily, is cooperating with BNI and ANteve to receive and distribute sacrificial animals and has so far collected 3,419 goats, 99 sheep and Rp 2.8 billion in cash. Information on how to arrange a sacrificial animal as a donation through the organization can be obtained through phone number (021) 79197928.

Several other nonprofit organizations are accepting and distributing animals or money for the Day of Sacrifice.

The Justice and Care Post for Community (PKPU) also offers ease in arranging sacrifices, including providing sacrifice outlets across the capital, picking up money or animals at offices or homes and enabling people to pay for their sacrificial animals through several bank accounts.

PKPU's prices range from Rp 720,000 to Rp 850,000 for a goat and Rp 5.55 million to 6.5 million for a cow. PKPU's hotline is (021) 87780015.

Meanwhile, the head of the animal health unit at the Jakarta Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Agency, Adnan Ahmad, said that animals entering Jakarta had been randomly checked by officials to make sure the animals were free from anthrax.

He said that officials from subdistricts, districts and municipalities had conducted random health checks on animals sold on the streets.

"We found no anthrax in any of the animals we checked. We give traders a certificate if all of their animals are found to be healthy. That's why people must ask to see a trader's certificate before they buy animals from them," he told the Post.

Separately, the Bogor husbandry office also guaranteed that sacrificial animals sold for Idul Adha in the city were free from anthrax because all animals had been vaccinated.