SHOULDN’T the RM2.6 bil allocation by the Madani government for Islamic development under Budget 2026 be sourced directly from zakat (tithe) funds and/or donations from Muslims only instead of from the country’s overall tax revenue which entails “fruits of non-Muslim’s labour”?
Such is an interesting food for thought by a moderate Muslim advocate in light of alleged proliferation of illegal houses of worship which has in recent times sparked tension between the Muslim and Hindu communities.
“Don’t overly blame non-Muslims if they build illegal houses of worship. They don’t get as much allocation from the government for their religion as the Malays do,” opined Nasri Azhar in a Facebook post.
“Even their hard-earned tax money is channelled as part of the allocation for Islamic affairs which amounts to billions. Is that fair? I don’t think so.”
Nasri went on to state that as a Malay, he does not agree that the task of budgeting allocation for Islamic affairs should lie with the Federal government.
“It would be fairer if the allocation of Islamic affairs is managed by each state separately using their respective zakat funds or donations from Muslims only. In the zakat fund, there is not a single penny of money from non-Muslims.”
‘Treat us with respect’
Although he is not denying that there is no federal funding for non-Muslim houses of worship, Nasri lamented that “the average allocation of circa 44.85 mil annually is only 1.725% of the RM2.6 bil allotted for Islamic affairs”.
“Are non-Muslims in Malaysia only total 1.725% of the population? The more zakat money is allocated at state level, the more allocations for the state’s Islamic affairs. Let all religions not get funds from the Federal government. Only then will it be fair for all,” justified Nasri.
After all, there’s no change in the mentality of Malaysian Muslims with those billions of funds. There’re only more extreme symptoms and cyber bullying in the name of religious advice.
“If you insist on using Federal funding for Islamic affairs, then don’t prevent non-Muslims from speaking out on what should be the correct version of Islam in Malaysia or on the management of Islamic affairs.
They pay taxes and should be entitled to offer their views or question the benefits of the RM2.6 bil to the country from a moral and spiritual perspective.
While many Muslims condemned Nasri for his liberal way of thinking (which is much expected), what is surprising nevertheless is that non-Muslims admitted that they are fine with paying taxes so long as they are treated decently and not humiliated at will by rightists.
“My family has been in Malaysia for over 120 years and my personal tax payment amounts to five figures annually, yet I don’t mind because that’s my responsibility as a Malaysian citizen,” quipped one Max Sim.
“What is sad and pathetic is that we’re still being mocked as pendatang (illegal immigrants), kafir (infidels) and are often taunted to return to China.”
In the same tone, one retired Indian nurse, too, expressed a somehow similar sentiment of being looked down upon despite being a dedicated taxpayer.
“We fulfill our responsibility, I myself have paid taxes for almost 30 years yet we’re always being humiliated and insulted,” opined one Meena Govind purportedly in reference to the illegal temple spat issue. “But that’s fine because life in this world is short and karma is true.”
At the end of the day, there was an interesting revelation after a Muslim commenter insinuated that it was sensible if the RM2.6 bil is channelled towards Islamic development given “Muslims made up 65% of the Malaysian population, hence they would have contributed RM113.6 bil from the total 2024 tax revenue of RM184.8 bil”.
The commenter was eventually schooled that “not all 65% of Muslims pay taxes primarily because majority of them is in the B40 bracket or having many children”.
“You are too naive. Tax collection is based on economic dominance. This means that 80% of taxes collected in Malaysia are from non-Muslims,” summed up one commenter. – Jan 29, 2026
