Baznas Accused of Taking Too Large a Share for Amils, UI Zakat Expert Responds

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The size of the zakat allocation for amils has drawn attention on social media. Some netizens criticised the amount allocated to amils from the National Zakat Amil Agency (Baznas) relative to other zakat recipients (asnaf).

This narrative was responded to by Yusuf Wibisono, a Zakat Specialist at the Centre for Islamic Economics and Business (FEB) of the University of Indonesia. He stressed that the share for amils, which sits around 12 percent, remains in line with applicable regulations.

‘In nominal terms, the observation is not wrong. However, in percentage terms, the amil allocation is around 12 percent of the total zakat funds, which legally is still within the permitted bounds,’ Yusuf said when contacted by Republika on Wednesday (4 March 2026).

He explained that, based on the Decree of the Minister of Religious Affairs (KMA) Number 606 of 2020, the maximum allocation for amils is 12.5 percent, or one-eighth of the total zakat funds collected. In Baznas’ case, the amil allocation was recorded at 12.2 percent.

The matter was questioned by netizens. They accused Baznas’ financial reports of showing a zakat allocation for amils larger than several other asnaf such as muallaf, gharimin, and ibnu sabil.

‘If it is argued that zakat management is not trustworthy because amils receive a relatively large share, that would certainly not be true,’ he said.