REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PADANG -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo distributed 510 waqf land certificates for mosques, musholas, and educational institutions in West Sumatra Province. He made the statement during a working visit to Padang City on Monday.

He was accompanied by Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning Sofyan Djalil and Governor of West Sumatra Irwan Prayitno during the symbolic delivery of land certificates to 19 representatives from each district and city of the province at the Jamiatul Huda Ketaping Mosque in Padang City.

Minister of Education and Culture Muhadjir Effendy, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, and Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arcandra Tahar also accompanied Widodo during his working visit.

"During my working visits to local areas in Indonesia, I often find that several plots of land of places of worship and boarding schools have not received certifications. Some local residents complain of land disputes," he remarked.

Hence, Widodo has directed the agrarian and spatial planning minister to immediately issue waqf land certificates for places of worship.

"Thank God, today, we have handed over 510 certificates to the residents in West Sumatra Province. We are still working to complete the certificates for other plots of land," he stated.

The president remarked that the land certificate is evidence of the land rights over mosques, musholas, madrasah or Islamic schools, and Islamic boarding schools, so it will prevent land disputes.

Meanwhile, Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning Sofyan Djalil stated that conflicts always arose over land tenure in big cities. "This is one of the reasons why the president has assigned me the task of issuing all waqf land certificates," he stated.

He invited all managers of waqf land to immediately apply for and complete administrative matters related to land certification. The ministry has targeted to issue a total of 1,500 land certificates by 2018.

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