On 23rd July 2024, Asst. Prof. Dr. Anwar Koma, Local government PSU Pattani students and three Indonesian Intern students visited the Madinah Al-Salam Foundation. We were welcomed by Mr. Shaleh, the founder of the Madinah Al-Salam Foundation and an informant on our field trip. This field trip aims to get more new insights from this foundation. Madinah Al-Salam is a Non-Government Organization (NGO) project that has been running since 2010. The project hoped to become an ideal city with individual and community welfare. It also utilizes the principle of Hasanah’, which can refer to any action that is positive and beneficial for individuals and society. The project was to develop and improve sustainable facilities in various areas such as religion, culture, education, health, and economy.
The Madinah Al-Salam project is also a collaboration between Fatoni University, Madinah Al Salam Foundation, and Pattani Jaya Holding CO., LTD. It was supported by the Islamic Bank of Thailand to help with the purchase of the land area. Furthermore, the background of this project is to provide better facilities for the community in various aspects of life, with the main goal of improving the welfare and quality of life of the local community so that it can have a positive impact in the long term. The project plan will build an Islamic center, hospital, business zone, village zone, and Fatoni University (Faculty of Nursing).
The sustainability goal of this project has attracted the public and communities to also participate in supporting this project. Therefore, the university has established a Waqaf initiative with different forms of waqf fundraising activities by opening booths, Ramadan Waqaf Project activities, and others. Fortunately, this project was welcomed by the people of Pattani and received a donation from the Ministry of Finance Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for 320 million baht, and also donated by the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, Qatar state 210 billion baht. This project manages waqf funds with a systematic and transparent management because the result of donations is provided on their websites that the total amount of donations that have been collected since 2010 is 101,432,320 baht and still ongoing. The mortgage repayment is vital so that the project can continue to progress without financial burden. Among many projects, Asean Mall Pattani is one of the projects that is already operational while the other buildings are still under construction.
“The Madinah Assalam project is the most exciting project for everyone, especially Muslim people because it will be the main center for Muslims in Pattani from all different backgrounds,” said Siti.
Project Madinah Al-Salam also has similarities with the vision and mission of the Human Initiative in Indonesia which is to improve the quality of people’s lives and welfare. However, the focus between these two foundations is different. The Human Initiative is a charitable foundation that focuses on sustainable development through infrastructure, renewable energy, agriculture, fisheries projects, and also humanitarian assistance programs such as food, clothing, shelter, health services, and educational facilities, especially in emergency or disaster situations. Human Initiative aims to provide opportunities for individuals and communities to be able to achieve self-reliance and human dignity through various programs of social assistance and socio-economic development, meanwhile, the Madinah Al-Salam Foundation was established to provide better facilities for the community in several aspects of human life, focusing on improving the welfare and quality of life of the local community.
“The Madinah Al-Salam project can be an example of countries in ASEAN that can advance for many people on a large scale,” said Dayandri.
In conclusion, the Human Initiative and Madinah Al-Salam, through their respective projects, are an inspiring example of other initiatives fighting for self-empowerment and human dignity. Although these two foundations operate in different contexts and regions, their staff members worked tirelessly to establish sustainable positive transformations for the local community. The students are blessed to have gained this valuable experience from this field trip because it has proven that there are still many people and foundations that are dedicated to helping the welfare of their local communities.
Keywords : Community Welfare, Sustainability, Southern Thailand
Author : Dewi Indah Berliana as an intern student from State University of Malang under the supervision of Asst. Prof. Dr. Anwar Koma, Faculty of Political Science, Prince of Songkla, Pattani Campus
Reviewer : Dayandri Trisatya Fatanabullah Rasyid Muhammad Syavie Siti Latifah