Zakat money cheats face greater fines, jail time

Jakarta, NU Online
Those who fail to distribute Islamic donations known as zakat now face jail terms of up to five years under a revised law passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday (27/10).

Under the revision to the Law on Islamic Zakat Donations, those who intentionally refrain from distributing the donation to those who have the right to receive it could receive up to five years in prison and fines of up to Rp 500 million ($57,000).

The previous law allowed offenders to be sanction with three months in jail and Rp 30 million in fines at the most.

Unlike the 1999 iteration of the donation law, the revision now carries a new name, the Law on the Management of Islamic Zakat Donations.

“The state needs to be present in playing a role in servicing and providing a legal assurance for acceptors of zakat, which was not optimally defined in the previous law,” said Gondo Radityo Gambiro, the deputy chairman of House Commission VIII, which oversees religious and social affairs.

The revised law also allows the use of Islamic social organizations that meet certain requirements to aid the National Alms Agency (Baznas) in collecting and distributing the donations.

The requirements stipulate that participating organizations must be committed to Islamic causes and deal with education, proselytizing and social affairs.

The organizations, he added, should also have a recommendation from Baznas, have shariah supervisors, be non-profit, have programs to use zakat to raise the prosperity of many people and be prepared to undergo periodic financial and Shariah audits.

Members of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) had previously argued that a broader range of organizations should be allowed to participate, not only those registered as social organizations.

The PKS said there were already many foundations effectively raising and distributing zakat and should not be excluded by the new policy.

However, the demand was not met by the final version of the legislation. Bahrul Hayat, the secretary general of the Religious Affairs Ministry, said legal certainty was needed when dealing with zakat. The plenary endorsed Bahrul’s position.

The payment of zakat is one of the five main obligations of observant Muslims. (dar)