Aidi Mokhtar
THE Sabah government will restructure its zakat (tithes) collection and distribution system to increase the effectiveness of zakat management in the state.
State Law and Native Affairs Minister Datuk Aidi Mokhtar said under the restructuring, the roles of Baitulmal Corporation would also be empowered.
“The Sabah Islamic Religious Council (MUIS) will delegate its powers to make Sabah Zakat Centre as the main amil (zakat collector), while in terms of its distribution, the power will be returned to MUIS,” he said in reply to Datuk Mohd Arifin Mohd Arif (UMNO-Membakut) at the state assembly sitting yesterday.
With regard to the number of zakat contributors among government-linked companies (GLCs) in Sabah, Aidi said so far they numbered 1,360 with a contribution of about RM52 million.
For the record, Aidi said a total of RM9,556,000 in zakat fitrah (personal zakat) was collected by Sabah Zakat Centre this year compared to RM9,356,250 last year.
In terms of business tithe, Aidi said, the collection as of July this year was RM11,537,000.