RELIGIOUS Affairs Minister Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri today presented contributions in the form of daily necessities and cash to more than 700 orphans and asnaf (those eligible to receive tithe or zakat) at the Kg Baru Jamek Mosque in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said the assistance, totalling more than RM200,000, was donated by various parties, including corporate bodies, civil society and the public, to ease the burden of the asnaf and orphans, especially during Ramadan.

“We are in a situation where we are observing the conditional movement control order (CMCO) and there are people who cannot afford to buy daily necessities for Ramadan and the Raya celebration, so the efforts taken by the Kg Baru Jamek Mosque is highly commendable.

“I hope that the assistance will ease the burden of Muslim recipients in the Federal Territory and will be able to put smiles on their faces as we are about to celebrate Aidilfitri,” he said after launching the Sinar Kasih Ramadan programme today.

The programme is jointly organised by the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) and the Kg Baru Jamek Mosque.

Meanwhile, on the reopening of mosques and surau that had been shut to curb the spread of Covid-19, he said it was still being discussed and any proposal would be presented to the cabinet first.

On May 4, Zulkifli had said the reopening of mosques and surau for religious activities would be implemented if the government was satisfied with guidelines prepared by the office of the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs).

Meanwhile, Kg Baru Jamek Mosque chairman Idris Shaari Mat Aris said the distribution of donations to the underprivileged would continue during Ramadan and the upcoming Aidilfitri, but carried out in stages according to funds collected.

“We organise this programme every year and we are very grateful that the donations we received this year have been quite a lot. However, for today’s event, only 20 asnaf and orphans were present due to the ongoing CMCO,” he said, adding that the mosque committee will arrange the distribution of donations to the remaining recipients. – Bernama, May 7, 2020.