KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — The Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) has updated and increased the ‘haddul kifayah’ rate to be applied this year.

The council in a statement today said the move to increase the rate in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan was decided by MAIWP in its second meeting of the year on 25 May.

‘Haddul kifayah’ refers to the income of an individual or household, used by zakat authorities, in determining whether an individual or household is eligible to be categorised as a zakat recipient or ‘asnaf’.

MAIWP acting chief executive officer Mohd Nizam Yahya said the increase in the rate was aimed at easing the financial burden borne by the Muslim community in the Federal Territories, especially the asnaf group who were affected by the increase in the prices of essential goods.

“It also aims to ensure coherence and uniformity in meeting the real needs of this group,” he said in the statement.

The statement added that the rate increase was also implemented due to the higher inflation rate following the sharp increase in demand for goods and services since the economy reopened.

“Citing a report from the Department of Statistics in May 2022, inflation for the income group below RM3,000 increased by 2.3 per cent from 123.6 in April 2021 to 126.4 in April 2022 where rising food inflation was the biggest contributor,” the statement said.

At the same time, MAIWP has prepared a large allocation of zakat funds to be distributed until the end of the year, taking into account the eventualities due to the rising inflation in the country.

To date, MAIWP has assisted more than 30,200 heads of families in the three provinces through various of the 30 Zakat assistance schemes offered.

“As of May, MAIWP has distributed RM297.14 million in zakat funds to asnaf and B40 in need,” added the statement.

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