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Zakat in Southeast Asia

Covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Timor-Leste. This is the region where Zakat

Covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Timor-Leste. This is the region where Zakat administration is most institutionalised outside the Gulf: Indonesia and Malaysia run it through public bodies, and Singapore through a statutory council, while the smaller communities rely on mosques.

How Zakat is paid here

Indonesia's National Zakat Agency, BAZNAS, sits at the top of a network of provincial and district agencies, and it also issues national guidance on Zakat Fitrah. Malaysia works state by state: each state's religious council runs its own Zakat body, of which the Selangor Zakat Board (LZS) is the largest and most reported. Singapore's Islamic Religious Council (MUIS) collects and distributes Zakat centrally, including monthly financial assistance to low-income households. Honest note: no single national collection body or figure was verifiable for Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos or Timor-Leste; giving there runs through mosques and local charities.

Moon sighting

Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs announces the start of Ramadan after its own sighting process; in 2025 it announced 1 March, and in 2026 the crescent was not sighted on the expected evening, so fasting began on 19 February. Singapore's MUIS likewise announces nationally. Honest note: the specific Malaysian moon-sighting authority was not verifiable for this guide; Malaysia's state-based religious structure means announcements come through the states rather than one national desk.

What the silver Nisab means here

The silver Nisab is 612.36 grams, about US$968 at the 1 November 2026 silver price of US$1.58 per gram. The region's bodies publish their own local Nisab figures, which is more useful than converting from dollars: Selangor's published Nisab in the second half of 2026 was RM38,748, and Singapore's published Nisab figure for October 2026 was S$15,584. Both move with metal prices, so the published figure for the current half-year is the one to use, not last year's.

Zakat al-Fitr

This region publishes some of the most detailed Fitrah schedules in the world. BAZNAS set Indonesia's 2026 Zakat Fitrah at 2.5 kilograms of rice, or Rp 50,000 per person in cash, while district figures in West Java ranged from Rp 32,500 to Rp 50,000. Selangor set three 2026 tiers tied to the rice a household eats: RM8 for ordinary white rice, RM16 for fragrant or brown rice, and RM25 for basmati and similar premium rice. Singapore's MUIS set two 2025 rates, S$5.00 for normal-grade rice and S$7.90 for higher-grade rice, based on the median price of 2.3 kilograms of rice.

Worked example

All prices and rates in this example are illustrative, not live rates.

A saver in Selangor holds RM60,000 in savings for a full lunar year. Selangor's published Nisab for the second half of 2026 was RM38,748, so the savings are above Nisab and Zakat is due on the whole amount: RM60,000 × 2.5% = RM1,500. The same saver would separately owe Zakat Fitrah for each household member at the tier matching the rice the family eats.

Sources

Figures are those published for the year stated; always recheck the issuing body's current figure before paying.

Countries in this guide

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