Muis to give out record $3.5m year-end zakat to over 7,800 needy families

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) will be giving out a record amount of funds to low-income households in the coming two weeks, following strong fund-raising support from the Muslim community for the less fortunate.

The council said on Wednesday that it will disburse about $3.5 million of zakat, or alms-giving, funds through its year-end disbursement exercise. This amount is about 18 per cent higher than that last year.

Significantly more low-income households - 7,862, compared with 6,407 last year - will benefit this time.

"This increase is made possible because of the strong support from the community through the zakat collection," said Muis.

More than $718,000 will be set aside for families with children aged 18 and below to help them with the cost of education. Around 9,700 school-going children will benefit from this assistance, a 16 per cent increase from last year.

"Year-end household expenses such as accumulated bills, arrears, loans, and the preparation costs for the new school year can be a challenging and stressful period for our zakat beneficiaries, especially those with school-going children," said the council.

The year-end disbursement, which was started in 2012, is on top of the monthly zakat financial assistance that Muis' zakat beneficiaries receive.

The council gives out $1.3 million in financial aid to 5,000 low-income households every month.