KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council Zakat Collection Centre (PPZ-MAIWP) today launched a campaign to encourage Muslims to pay their income tithe via the Monthly Zakat Deduction (PZB) scheme.
PPZ-MAIWP acting chief executive officer, Abdul Hakim Amir Osman (pix) said the campaign which started this month until December is also aimed at attracting more private sector workers and civil servants, especially in the Federal Territories to pay tithe on a monthly basis through salary deductions.
“This is a suitable time for those whose income has not been affected to come forward to help the less fortunate and more eligible tithe recipients,” he told a virtual media conference after launching the PZB campaign yesterday.
Abdul Hakim said the campaign is open to all tithe payers, including those seeking to increase monthly deduction from their salaries.
He said PPZ-MAIWP estimated that 30 per cent of residents in the Federal Territories who are eligible to pay the tithe have yet to fulfil their religious obligation.
Meanwhile, Abdul Hakim said PPZ-MAIWP aims to collect RM800 million in tithe collection this year, and of the total, RM6 million is targeted to be collected from 5,500 tithe payers through the PZB scheme.
In another development, he said PPZ, in collaboration with MIWP, had channelled about RM40 million in aid to 77,210 recipients under the MAIWP Prihatin-Kasih Asnaf 3.0 programme.
“We have also distributed aid worth RM1 million to about 6,000 families in 19 localities placed under the Enhanced Movement Control Order in the Federal Territories,” he said.
For the record, the number of tithe aid recipients comprising household heads had risen by 35 per cent from 43,353 recipients in 2019 to 59,419 in 2020, while for the period from January to June 2021 alone, the number of tithe recipients stood at 47,483 people.
-Bernama
