SHAH ALAM: The awareness to pay zakat (tithe), especially for property, among Muslims aged 25 and above in Selangor is still low, according to Selangor Zakat Board (LZS) Collection Division Head Muhd Fikri Naim Harun.
He said it was found that 50 per cent of those eligible to pay zakat, but hardly do so, were from the age group of 25 to 34.
Thus, he said LZS will intensify its My2.5 Campaign, which was launched in 2020, by using social media platforms to enhance awareness to pay zakat among the target group.
“Based on the Digital 2021 Malaysia report on datareportal.com, this group are most active users of WhatsApp, Shopee e-commerce platform and Google search engine, so we will be focusing on these mediums too,” he told Bernama.
He said although various platforms were provided to facilitate the zakat payment, including the opening of 23 zakat payment centres statewide and online, efforts were still needed to be intensified to encourage the eligible groups to fulfil their obligations as stipulated in the third pillar of Islam.
Apart from that, Muhd Fikri said the campaign also needed to be re-intensified as there were still many Muslims who do not know the actual rate of property tithe payment.
“The tithe amount payable by Muslims is only 2.5 per cent of his or her wealth. Although it is only 2.5 per cent, the amount is big for the asnaf (those eligible to receive tithe) group,” he said.
In the meantime, he said the tithe collection in Selangor for January to October this year saw an increase of about nine per cent, and also a seven per cent increase in the number of zakat payers compared to the same period last year.
He added LZS aimed to collect a tithe of over RM900 million this year after collecting RM913 million last year.-Bernama
