KUALA LUMPUR: McDonald's Malaysia handed over its corporate zakat of RM500,000 to Pusat Pungutan Zakat-Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (PPZ-MAIWP) at McDonald's Danau Kota DT today.
This was the highest amount since McDonald's Malaysia started paying zakat five years ago when the company was acquired by Lionhorn Pte Ltd in 2017, a subsidiary of the Reza Group from Saudi Arabia.
McDonald's Malaysia also organised an Asnaf Community Pilgrimage Programme, by donating to 50 poor families around Danau Kota, Kuala Lumpur and handed over wakalah donations in the form of kotak rezeki and duit raya.
McDonald's Malaysia vice-president (human resources) and internal halal committee chairman Azhar Darbi said the business zakat payment was one of their initiatives to give back to the community and was also one of their core values.
"We feel appreciated to receive the Business Zakat Payer Certificate from PPZ-MAIWP and hopefully by displaying the certificate in our restaurants, it can boost the community's trust towards our company.
Also present were PPZ-MAIWP chief executive officer Abdul Hakim Amir Osman and Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) acting chief executive officer Nizam Yahya.
"Congratulations to McDonald's Malaysia, for being a model which can be followed by other companies and we are confident that McDonald's Malaysia is able to influence more companies to pay business zakat as well as improve the asnaf's economy," said Hakim.
He advised members of the public to grab the opportunity to do good by helping the needy as a sign of gratitude for the blessings provided by Allah.
"MAIWP expresses its appreciation to McDonald's Malaysia for its ongoing efforts to fulfill the fourth pillar of Islam and we hope large corporations will pay zakat to the Religious Council or the Zakat Collection Centre as it will help the Muslim community, especially the asnaf who are in need.
"Insyaallah, we hope this strategy will continue from time to time to help the asnaf community survive," he said.
Apart from paying zakat, McDonald's Malaysia also collaborates with the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and Halal Development Corporation to support the halal commitment by engaging in Halal activities from the business aspect.
McDonald's Malaysia is also actively involved in various halal programmes, including the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS), HALFEST and the World Halal Conference.