PTPTN paying zakat, 1MDB sponsoring haj, what’s the difference, asks group

PTPTN’s decision to pay zakat has been criticised by civil society groups.

PETALING JAYA: A civil society group has hit out at the National Higher Education Fund Corporation’s (PTPTN) recent contribution to the Kedah Zakat Board, urging the government to immediately put a stop to the study loans fund’s practice of giving out its money for charity.

ENGAGE said it was wrong for PTPTN to indulge in “gift-giving” at a time of financial crunch caused by billions of ringgit in unpaid debts from borrowers.

“No government agency should be giving out mock cheques for ‘CSR’ purposes. All of government is about corporate social responsibility,” ENGAGE said in a statement today.

On Thursday, PTPTN chairman Wan Saiful Wan Jan said it handed over a mock cheque worth RM1 million to Kedah mufti Syeikh Fadzil Awang.

Wan Saiful said it was part of the fund’s responsibility to pay zakat, an annual wealth tax which forms one of the five Islamic pillars.

The move invited criticism of power abuse in PTPTN, which has been saddled with close to RM40 billion in debts.

ENGAGE said a government body such as PTPTN has no business giving out gifts in the name of CSR, adding that the same was done by scandal-ridden 1MDB.

“No government agency should have a CSR program: let’s not forget that between 2010 and 2017, while 1MDB bled RM19 billion, it spent RM690 million on CSR; it even paid for Haj performances!”

It said the argument that PTPTN was fulfilling its religious obligation by paying zakat raised questions on the conduct of other government-controlled bodies.

“Does this mean EPF, LTHM, PNB and the Armed Forces Foundation must also pay zakat? If so, this completely blurs the line between state and religion with respect to money,” it said. - FMT