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SHAH ALAM – The Selangor Zakat Board (LZS) is encouraging Muslims to pay their tithes on a monthly basis to help the institution distribute tithes to the needy.
LZS collection division chief Muhd Fikri Naim Harun said around 65,000 asnaf families comprising the poor, needy, and Muslim converts currently receive tithe assistance from LZS on a monthly basis according to their needs.
“Most payers calculate their annual income at the end of each year. We can see that the total zakat collection in December is very high compared with the other 11 months. Therefore, we encourage monthly zakat payments to cover the amount required for monthly distribution,” he said.
Fikri said that last year, LZS recorded a significant increase in zakat collection of RM992.9 million compared to RM912.9 million in 2020 despite the Covid-19 pandemic at that time.
“Muslims are now aware of their religious obligations and we thank tithe payers in Selangor, who increased to 364,778 last year compared with 346,415 in 2020,” he said.
However, he said it was found that 23% of tithe payers in the state still paid the same amount for years as they have not reassessed their commitment.
As such, he said, LZS hoped the community would take the opportunity to recalculate through the Zakat Assessment Month (BTZ) campaign held from June 15 to July 31 to determine the amount of tithes that have to be paid on their wealth.
“We chose the period between June to July for this campaign as most companies make salary adjustments in the second quarter of each year, so this is the right time for Muslims to do their tithe assessment, the same reason why we do the e-filing process for tax payments every year in March and April,” he said.
According to him, LZS provides various payment channels such as salary deduction, internet banking, counters at board branches, and the latest being direct debit deduction to make it easier for Muslims to fulfill the fourth pillar of Islam.
"With technological advancement, the zakat board also encourages Muslims to make online payments, which is now the choice of around 25% of payers according to our 2021 record,” he said
Through the BTZ campaign, tithe payers who download the Selangor Zakat app to assess their tithe payment and then make payment through the available channels will be given the opportunity to participate in the Jom Taksir Zakat contest and win attractive prizes.
The latest information on the BTZ campaign can be obtained at the zakat board’s official channels, namely jom.zakatselangor.com.my portal or ZakatSelangor Facebook and Instagram. – Bernama, July 20, 2022