National

Kiai Afif asks clerics to pay attention to small traders

Selasa, 3 Maret 2015 | 03:27 WIB

Jakarta, NU Online
Secretary of the Advisory Board of NU (Katib Syuriyah) KH Afifuddin Muhajir, popularly known as Kiai Afif, called for the need for clerics (kiai) to pay more attention to small traders. <>

According to Kiai Afif, amid the proliferation of mini markets in rural communities, it is important for the religious leaders to remind people of spending in meeting their daily needs in small stalls or traditional markets.

"I see how the fate of our small traders is. We must be moved to defend them," Kiai Afif told NU Online here over the weekend.

The leading expert of Islamic jurisprudence said the money spent at mini markets such as Indomart, Alfamart, and the like was no longer returned to the community but was evaporated to the outside.

Nevertheless, Kiai Afif said, we must recognize that the inability of small trader in competing with the minimarkets was not merely due to the government policy mistakes but also the fault of ourselves.

"If I need a cigarette or mineral water, I deliberately avoid (spending at) mini markets. I choose to buy at a small shop," said the author of Fath Mujibil Qarib.

Editing by Sudarto Murtaufiq