The number of people recorded in the register for the underprivileged has significantly decreased, with the numbers observing a difference of 2634 from the most recent Zakat distribution period.
The number of people listed in the register for poor and needy has significantly decreased.
Accordingly with the Rights to Information (RTI) Act, local media Mihaaru News had submitted an RTI to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs on June 9, requesting for a list of people recorded in the register for poor and needy as well as their current numbers.
The RTI was sent following the government's oversight in sending a person who earns a regular income to Hajj pilgrimage alongside the 50 underprivileged individuals sent to to embark on Hajj under the government's sponsorship this year. The RTI had appealed for the State's standards and criteria in deeming a person as underprivileged.
The response delivered by Islamic Ministry today stated that the register for the poor had consisted of 5,023 persons during the most recent instance of Zakat distribution. Moreover, although the appeal sought a complete list, the Ministry had refused to reveal the information, citing confidentiality rights of those included.
The current list however, has observed a significant decline from the previous list which had recorded 7,657 as underprivileged, noting a difference of 2,634 people.
The Ministry also added that the requirements reviewed in sending underprivileged individuals to Hajj pilgrimage had followed the same policy as the compilation of the poor and needy published in the Gazette.
Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said that the register of the poor and needy had remained unreviewed since 2021 up until 2023, further assuring that the work has now commenced and is progressing smoothly.
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