LABUAN, Oct 11 — The tithe collection in the three federal territories of Labuan, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur increased 11 per cent to over RM800 million last year, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) acting chief executive officer Mohd Nizam Yahya said business tithes represented the biggest contributor for last year’s collection.

“It was a significant increase compared to only four to six per cent recorded in previous years,” he told reporters after the 2021 Media Appreciation Night at Tiara Hotel near here yesterday.

Mohd Nizam said MAIWP would use 80 per cent of the RM1.1 billion allocation to provide various assistance for the Asnaf (eligible tithe recipients) in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan, next year.

Meanwhile, he said the MAIWP healthcare clinic would be expanded to Labuan to help the Asnaf receive medical treatment.

Mohd Nizam also expressed his appreciation to media practitioners in Labuan for their commitment in providing news reports, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The media coverage given to various MAIWP programmes and assistance schemes has also helped us to reach out to more people and distribute aid to eilgible recipients,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency