Pusat Pungutan Zakat

Zakat or “alms giving” is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It is mandatory for all Muslim who possesses the minimum Nisab. The other pillars being Syahadah, Solat, Sawm / Fasting during Ramadhan, and perfoming Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca. Zakat is compulsory for eliglible Muslim in order to help people who are in needs of helps, known as asnaf. Zakat starts being compulsory during the second year of Hijrah.

Firman Allah s.w.t.

To change something good into a better state is not an easy task.  Therefore in the early 1990, the idea of having a systematic zakat collection system using new technology was ignited.

Hence, a plan to establish an agency called Pusat Pungutan Zakat  was forwarded to the Chairman of Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (MAIWP), Tan Sri Dr Yusof Noor. The committee was headed by Dato’ Haji Abdul Rahim Abu Bakar. The other committee members were Haji Omar Thean Abdullah, Haji Mohd Zihin Hassan and Haji Abdul Kalid Abdul Aziz. The team started to perform its duties on 20 December 1989. Among them was to provide reciprocal guides to the research done by the appointed consulting firm. One of the basic ideas proposed in the research was for MAIWP to establish a foundation that will handle zakat collection on behalf of Baitulmal Wilayah Persekutuan in the form of corporate management.
The core of the new system is the collection procedure that is designed and customized through a computer system. It involves zakat assessment form, coding system, information collection system, payment system, check and balance system, marketing system and reporting system. In the early 1991, after a year of research, planning and execution, Pusat Pungutan Zakat then started to operate.

Pusat Pungutan Zakat, Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (PPZ-MAIWP) is an agency set up by Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan. PPZ-MAIWP started its functions to collect all types of zakat on 1 January 1991. The main focus of PPZ-MAIWP are zakat on income, zakat on savings, zakat on business, zakat on gold, zakat on silver, zakat on shares and zakat on Employee Provident Fund (EPF).

The corporate form of PPZ-MAIWP management practices are carried out by Hartasuci Sdn Bhd, a MAIWP wholly owned subsidiary. The company was placed under Yayasan Taqwa Berhad that was controlled by MAIWP. However, starting 1 January 2006, Hartasuci Sdn Bhd was placed directly under MAIWP.

PPZ-MAIWP collects zakat in three main federal territories namely Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan. While the programs to distribute zakat to the eight eligible asnaf are under Baitulmal, MAIWP.

PPZ-MAIWP has been an example of zakat collection organization in Malaysia for being the first to operate using computer technology 16 years ago. Its effectiveness and efficiency has increased zakat collection from one year to another. The aggressive marketing strategies also have increased the awareness to obligate zakat in Muslim community. Baitulmal has successfully organized many programs and build several social, welfare and education centers especially for community in the city, results from the increasing zakat collection every year.