This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 19, 2015.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Muslims are committing a sin when they give zakat (alms) to the poor, instead of handing the contributions to the government’s zakat collection centres, said Datuk Che Mat Che Ali.

The Federal Territory Zakat Centre chairman said this is because Malaysian Muslims are more generous to “cute widows” or “eloquent speakers”, rather than those truly in need.

In contrast, if the money is given to the zakat collection centres, the government would ensure that all those in need would receive equal help, he said.

“You have to pay (zakat) to leaders ... this is the law of Islam, so it would be sinful to do otherwise. The government will in turn distribute the zakat to the needy,” Che Mat told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

He said the government distributes zakat based on a database containing details of those eligible to get the aid.

“[With direct payment], if there are five people there, someone would give zakat to just those five people. If we see someone is eloquent, we see that the person is a rather cute widow, we give them lots of zakat.

“When in truth, there are so many more people we are managing through our Baitulmal (fund), through our database system.”

He said direct alms-giving would see people who are more needy, but less adept at speaking and asking for help, deprived of the aid they deserve.

Che Mat added that the government’s zakat distribution system is “the best” and Muslim Malaysians need not seek out the needy on their own.

“This often happens ... injustice in terms of distribution. So, just hand the money over to the government. We don’t help just a few, but all who need it. Everyone gets it.”

He said the government distributes zakat it receives to 23,000 families in the country each month.

Malaysian Islamic Development Department director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha, who was also present at the press conference, added that there is no issue of the money not reaching the poor.

One of the measures taken by the authorities was to set up a squad that patrolled the federal territory to find those deserving of aid, he said. — The Malaysian Insider