Complaint on 'zakat abuse' lodged with MACC

A disabled man has lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on the abuse of zakat (tithe) funds in Johor. 

Azizan Jaafar said he lodged the report last month after he found the value of the in-kind assistance he received was far below the value stated in the delivery order. 

Azizan, who became disabled following an accident, estimates the items to cost RM700, and not RM4,500 as stated in the order.

"I refused to sign the delivery order," he said.

He said that the items were six cups for the traditional healing method bekam(cupping) and a towel warmer. 

"I know the retail price for the towel warmer is only RM480 while the cups, which I have bought before, only cost RM44 each, putting the total cost for the cups at RM264," he said when contacted.

Checks with online stores byMalaysiakini showed that a towel warmer-cum-steriliser is priced from between US$90 (RM290.75) and US$120 (RM387.68). However, an industrial autoclave steriliser can cost thousands of ringgit. 

E-stores sell the bekam cups for as low as RM20 for a box of six, depending on the brand. 

The items delivered to Azizan were clearly marked "towel warmer" instead of an industrial autoclave while packaging for the bekamcups is similar to the ones sold in e-stores.

A cut for the supplier?

Azizan said a supplier for the Johor Islamic Affairs Council (MAIJ) had approved aid of RM4,500 but "the supplier can only give me RM2,700 and the rest is his cut."

"This prompted me to lodge a report with MACC. MACC officers came to my house on Oct 29 to take pictures of the items delivered and called me on Oct 31 to tell me not to use the items as they could be classified as evidence," he said. 

Malaysiakini has contacted the Muar division of the MACC, where his report was lodged, but a division officer said internal procedures bar it from making any confirmation.

Meanwhile, Azizan said that it has taken him close to two years to receive the zakat aid. His application was initially rejected in February 2012 but a second application was approved in March 2013.

However, he did not receive the promised aid and had to push MAIJ officers on it for months. 

"I continued calling MAIJ but the response was disappointing. My calls were either disconnected or the officers in charge were on leave, at a course, out for drinks, and so on...," he said. 

Azizan finally managed to raise the matter through a friend with a contact in MAIJ, prompting the supplier to call him in October. 

According to his zakat application form, the household income of the father of nine is between RM700 and RM1000 a month, with expenses reaching about RM1,410 a month. Six of his children are under 18 years. 

Church offers help

Azizan said that while waiting for zakat aid, he was even offered "unconditional" help by a church in Bakri, which he declined.

Another disabled man from Muar, who only wanted to be known as Ibrahim, told Malaysiakini that his application for zakat was also declined forcing him to get into debt with a loan shark.

"My application was also endorsed by the local imam, but I was informed that I am not eligible as I already get RM300 as monthly assistance from the government for disabled people who are employed.

"It was a difficult period. I lost my job and my wife was ill, so I had no choice but to go to a loan shark. Thankfully, after that I got a job as a security guard, I was able to pay off the loan," he said.

He said he complained to the kadi (religious officer), and soon after that MAIJ representatives came to his house and gave him a 5kg bag of rice. But his zakat application was still not approved. 

The man said that he was still in debt - "this time with an authorised loan provider" - and was wary of applying for the zakat assistance again.

"They make snide remarks when we submit our application... People pay a lot of money as zakat, but those who really need it don't get it," he lamented.