NGOs suggest mosque, surau funds to be made known to public

SHAH ALAM – Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have made a recommendation for the management of funds at places of worship to be disclosed to the public.

Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM) chairman Badlishah Sham said this was crucial in order to ensure that there were no elements of misappropriation that could compromise the credibility of the mosque as one of the platforms to channel funds.

"Of course the financial statements were tabled in committee meetings at the mosques and suraus. However, information about how the funds are handled and used as a whole should also be made known to the public.

"This is because the money received involved contributions from people who come to the mosque, thus there should be transparency by disclosing how the funds are managed," he told Sinar Harian on Monday.

On Sunday, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Community Education division director Datuk Razim Mohd Noor said the agency had received numerous complaints from the community expressing their displeasure and worry over the management of mosque funds.

In order to raise public understanding and awareness, particularly among mosque committee members on financial management, Razim said the MACC would expand the Mosque Community's Fight against Corruption programme across the country.

Badlishah added that it was also necessary for the mosque funds to be made public so that people in the area could offer their opinions and recommendations on how to better manage the funds.

"Maybe someone in the area has a better idea. As a result, because it considered the opinions of the community, parishioners, and others, the management would be more transparent," he added.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Foundation president Mohd Nizam Mohd Isa made a similar recommendation to prevent misappropriation of the public's funds.

"If the mosque committee members had calculated the amount of money that has been raised, the public would like to know about it. This is to prevent leakages or irregularities.

"The community may become suspicious on the mosque's administration of the funds if it involved only certain people (who have knowledge on how the funds are being managed)," he said.

In a related development, Mohd Nizam proposed for a specific procedure to manage the mosque's funds,and it must be adhered to by all the management in the mosques and suraus.

He emphasised that once the procedure is in place, leakages or irregularities would not exist.