Ramadan has come. All human beings throughout the world begin to tie their waist to endure hunger, thirst and lust. Rows of sandals seemed crowded neatly arranged in the yard of the mosque sign of the number of makmum that came in droves. The echo of prayer in congregation together in the dark night tarawih prayers began to be fulfilled. This atmosphere makes anyone who feels it will be amazed, especially in Indonesia, which is the country with the largest number of Muslims in the world.
Many preachers voiced that this month of Ramadhan was actually divided into three important phases. The first phase is the phase of grace. The first 10 days in the month of Ramadan are the month of humility to care for others. Especially in this first phase, fasting will be very heavy because the stomach is surprised because it is forced to fast. Even though every month it continues to work grinding all the food that enters the body. The second phase is the phase of Maghfirah or forgiveness. On the second 10 days we are asked to ask for forgiveness and regret actions and words that are disgraceful before the Ramadhan Month comes. While the last phase is the phase of blasting of hellfire. It's not easy, of course, in the last 10 days. Sandals that were found at the beginning of Ramadhan were often found in places of worship both during tarawih and fardlu prayer times, now as if they were gone. Precisely at that moment, the sound of the sandals could be heard back and forth in the shopping center. This phenomenon is interesting where people's attention has begun to change. Shaf prayers are progressing but parking lots in shopping centers are getting backward.
Imam Ghazali expressed his opinion regarding the nature of fasting. According to him, it is enough for us to hold our passions and lust so that the legitimate requirements of fasting can be fulfilled. But scholars interpret the validity of fasting more than that. Legitimate fasting is received fasting accompanied by intentions and objectives achieved. Among the goals of fasting is to control yourself from being lying, gossiping, pitting, perjury, and seeing lust. These cases are not easy for us to face together in this glorious month, especially after the presidential election in April. The proof is that there are many cases until the victory claims before the KPU's real count calculation until the treason action triggers anger from some circles of society.
Ramadan should be an investment moment for Muslims because this month all lusts are tried to be braked. With this feeling of lust, household expenses should also be increasingly braked. If we analogize it into a simple analogy, in the fasting month we only eat heavy for two times, namely when breaking the fast and sahur. Unlike in other months where heavy meals are generally scheduled three times a day. If the assumption of each portion of food is worth Rp. 15,000, - and in one household there are four household members, so that a day can be saved up to Rp. 60,000. So for one month you can save up to Rp. 1,800,000 a year can save up to Rp. 21,600,000. With this nominal, at least a year can be allocated to educational needs, purchasing vehicles or to sacrifice a cow on the Eid al-Adha Day.
Contradictory facts
Based on data on Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) calculated by the Provincial Statistics Agency of the Bangka Belitung Islands, it shows contradictions. The phenomena that occurred pre and post Ramadhan actually indicate the existence of massive expenditure from the household sector. It is inversely proportional to the nature of Ramadan which is demanded for those who run it to save money.
From 2016 to 2018, the month of Ramadan falls in the second quarter of the Christian calendar, which is from April to June. It was during this period that the Babel population's household consumption expenditure had an optimal pace compared to the previous quarter. Expenditures increased most drastically compared to other quarters. In the second quarter of 2016 the rate of growth in household consumption expenditure reached 2.01 percent compared to the first quarter. In the second quarter of 2017 the rate of growth was 1.92 percent compared to the previous quarter. The same pattern still occurs in 2018 where in the second quarter the growth rate of household consumption expenditure reached a growth level of 1.91 percent.
It turns out that the phenomenon of "wasteful" household expenditure does not occur in Babylon alone but has become a national phenomenon even with varying variations. This is clearly illustrated by the calculation of Indonesia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Nationally, household consumption expenditure increased in the second quarter but reached its peak in the third quarter, namely after the month of Ramadan. When compared quarterly (q-to-q), in 2017 and 2018 in the second quarter reached a growth rate of 1.37 percent and 1.59 percent. The national Ramadan effect lasts quite long until the third quarter, reaching growth in the consumption rate to 3.40 percent in 2017 and 3.24 percent in 2018.
Household consumption expenditure is divided into several sub-components of expenditure. What is interesting from the composition of this expenditure is that almost all expenditure sub-components have increased. The expenditure sub-component that experienced the highest rate of growth last year was a sub-component of restaurants and hotels. This sub-component increases its growth to a positive level of 4.75 percent in the third quarter inversely proportional to what happened in the first quarter where there was a growth degradation to the level of minus 1.24 pesrsen. This happened because it was driven by a number of travelers who needed accommodation and culinary tours during the Lebaran and other activities throughout Ramadan. The phenomenon of Lebaran homecoming also has a significant impact on the rate of economic growth in the sub-components of transportation and communication. For example in 2018, this sub-component which had fallen in the first quarter with a negative rate of 0.15 percent, suddenly in the second quarter began to crawl up with a positive rate of 1.56 percent and skyrocketed in the next quarter to level 4.24 percent. This series of rising household consumption levels is very close to activities throughout the month of Ramadan.
This month should be a moment to put a brake on lust. Hopefully the high rate of growth in household consumption above is accompanied by a high transfer rate from one household to another, with another name being sadaqah. If the level of alms is high, hopefully the equal distribution of income of all people can be realized. Of course, from the macroeconomic side, the increase in consumption growth brings fresh air that the economy is still running conducively and the economic wheel is running well. Hopefully with the moment of Ramadhan where it is intended for Muslims to fast and hold back the lust to make the wheels of the economy move in a positive direction. Hadn't been promised a special place in heaven, whose door said Al-Rayyan (freshness, peace) and could only be entered by those who were experts on fasting. After all fasting experts have entered, the door will be closed, locked, and not let other people who fasted enter it. Hopefully those who implement it are classified into that group.
Written by:
Royhan Faradis S.ST
Functional Statistics BPS Kab. Belitung Timur
