The Acceptance of Amil and Zakat Recipient toward Localization of Zakat Distribution in Malaysia

Localization of zakat management is the process of decentralization of collection and distribution authority of the zakat fund by the amil in a certain area to the zakat recipients in the same area. To what extent this proposal could be implemented by the zakat institution is dependent upon the perceptions of amil as the implementer and zakat recipients as the end user in the zakat system. This study aims to examine whether the amil and zakat recipients agree to accept the concept of localization of zakat management and investigate the reasons for their acceptance. This study uses several approaches including exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and logistic regression. The study finds that in general amil and zakat recipients support the proposed localization of zakat management. In addition, localization of zakat distribution is significantly dependents on three main variables namely political and relations, easy identification of recipients and transparency; and trust in the zakat system and institution. This means majority of respondents accept the concept of zakat localization and expect this concept will improve the efficiency of zakat management. Some suggestions and policy implications are discussed in this study.