Public should be cautious when paying tithe

ALOR STAR: Muslims in Kedah have been reminded to pay their tithe to appointed amil (collectors) of the Kedah Zakat Board (LZNK) to avoid being cheated by false officers who appear at the end of each Ramadan.
Its Chief Executive Officer Zakaria Othman said 3,200 amil had been placed in selected locations throughout the state and carried authorisation cards and the legitimate orange receipt books of the LZNK.
"The first thing that the tithe payer must do in order to avoid being cheated is ensure that the individual collecting the tithe at the mosque, shopping complex, bank and supermarket has the authorisation card hung around his neck and the orange receipts from the LZNK," he told reporters at the launch of the Fitrah drive- through counter at the Menara Zakat Kedah here today.
He said the counter which would be open from 8 am to 7 pm until the end of Ramadan (June 24) would make it easier for the public to pay their tithes.
He said during the two hours the counter was open today (8 am to 10 am), as much as RM1,200 was collected from 160 people.
Zakaria also urged LZNK staff to monitor the tithe collectors to ensure that they do not collect for other parties.
"We have received complaints that there are people, including LZNK collectors, who collect the tithe for others, I have already warned our collectors and hope this does not happen again this year," he said.
Meanwhile, Zakaria said, the total amount of tithes collected in Kedah as of June 19 was RM70 million, an increase of RM8 million from the same period last year.
The amount collected for tithes from income this year is the highest so far at RM40 million, business tithe RM17.846 million and savings tithe RM7 million.
Zakaria also urged the public not to wait until the last moment to pay the tithe and to go early to avoid congestion at the payment counters. — Bernama