More ways to meet "zakat" target

Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman (second from left) distributing zakat contributions to Nizam Yeow Abdullah from Mersing District Education Department and Bahrin Jalal (left) from Felcra Sri Mahkota in Endau. — Picture by Ikhwan Muhammad

THE Johor Religious Council is targeting a zakat (tithes) collection of RM121.5 million this year to benefit recipients who include the poor and new Muslim converts.
State Religious Committee chairman, Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman said that as of June, the state's zakat collection has reached RM41.4 million.

He said this amount is expected to increase steadily for the rest of the year if Muslims in Johor continued to fulfill their obligation with the zakat.

He said that if the target amount was not reached, development programmes meant for the underprivileged would not be fulfilled.

"There are many working adults and people with high income from both the public and private sectors who have yet to fulfill their zakat obligation," said Zainal Abidin recently after distributing zakat to 28 recipients in Mersing.

"To encourage zakat payment, the state Religious Council has an ongoing awareness campaign for Muslims.

"The council also provides facilities such as salary deduction, payment through bank counters, post offices and internet banking for zakat."

Three of those recipients received special incentives under the Mersing District Education Office, and a house each from the state's Baitulmal unit, which manages zakat and other funds meant for the needy.
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