Refleksi: Kalau di tanah Arab Saudi nan suci yang disebut kayaraya dengan dibimbing oleh petunjuk agama Illahi, di kota Medinah terdapat 14% penduduknya yang hidup dalam kemiskinan, bagaimana di kota-kota lainnya? Kalau di tanah suci saja sudah begitu, bagaimana di negeri yang tidak suci seperti Indonesia dengan mayoritas penduduknya miskin melarat mau diterapkan hukum agama dengan diberlakukan ekonomi syariah? Apakah ada faedahnya?
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=91884&d=8&m=2&y=2007&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom Thursday, 8, February, 2007 (20, Muharram, 1428) 14% of Madinah Residents Live in Poverty: Survey P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News JEDDAHP.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News - About 14.2 percent of families in Greater Madinah, which includes villages surrounding the holy city, live below the poverty line, according to a report in Al-Watan daily. The report pointed out that Madinah has one of the highest unemployment rates in the Kingdom with the number of unemployed men reaching 16.7 percent and women 26.8 percent. The report, which was based on an urban development survey, also noted that 55.9 percent of people in the region live in rented buildings while 42.4 percent live in their own houses. The percentage of people living below the poverty line was calculated using the guidelines followed by the UN Human Settlement Program, the report said. Madinah's population grew at the rate of 3.38 percent last year, which is higher than the nationwide average of 2.4 percent. Per capita water consumption in the region is 311 liters daily compared to the national average of 230 liters. With respect to crimes, Madinah has a good record compared to other Saudi cities. The crime rate in the region has dropped to 1.8 percent against the national average of 3.6 percent. In divorce cases, Madinah still holds a leading position with 31.26 percent. Illiteracy among men in the region was 4.43 percent against the national average of 11.1 percent, and among women 11.85 percent against the national average of 28.9 percent. Average school attendance of both girls and boys in Madinah is better than in many other parts of the country. The number of Saudi Arabia's poor is estimated at about 1.2 million and the government has a national strategy to fight poverty. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah ordered the strategy after visiting a Riyadh slum in November 2002 when he was crown prince. Officials at the Ministry of Social Affairs would not state the number of Saudi individuals and families living below the Saudi poverty line of SR1,700 ($452) per month. Some 391,000 Saudi families with 1.2 million members currently enjoy social insurance benefits provided by the ministry. As part of efforts to fight poverty, King Abdullah has allocated SR10 billion to construct 64,000 low-income dwellings in the next four years for hundreds of Saudi families who live in makeshift buildings and slums in various parts of the country. According to Yousuf Al-Othaimeen, secretary-general of the King Abdullah Charitable Housing Foundation, the Kingdom currently needs at least one million housing units in order to provide decent housing for its poor. "Studies conducted by the foundation suggest that the demand for housing units is more than anybody imagines," Al-Othaimeen said, adding that his foundation would build 13,000 housing units in various parts of the country within a few years. Al-Othaimeen said families deserving charitable housing units would be chosen either by visiting areas lived in by the poor or by applying strict criteria. "There are four criteria: First, the person should be a Saudi; second, he should not have received any loan from the Real Estate Development Fund; third, his monthly income should not exceed SR2,500; and fourth, there should not be any workers under his sponsorship." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
