RIYADH, 17 October 2006 — The Jeddah-based Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has proposed to Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi the setting up of a zakah fund at the pan-OIC level for promoting the welfare of the poor and the needy among the 57 member countries.
The suggestion was put forward during a meeting that Saleh Kamel, president of ICCI, had with the Malaysian prime minister in Jeddah. Badawi, who was here on a short visit to the Kingdom to perform Umrah, had an audience with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. He also had separate talks with the Deputy Governor of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and senior executives of ICCI, one of the subsidiaries of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). He left Jeddah last night. Malaysia’s ambassador, Dato Ismail Ibrahim, said the Malaysian prime minister shared with Saleh Kamel his country’s rich experience in the administration and utilization of zakah fund for the benefit of the vulnerable sections of society.
Malaysia’s capacity-building program, the ambassador pointed out, was mainly for the member states lacking in skills in which his own country was strong. To this end, the government offers technical knowhow and financial assistance to enable those countries to harness their potential in those specific areas. This was the theme of the talks that Badawi had with the deputy governor of the IDB.
Ambassador Ismail said that during the prime minister’s talks with Saleh Kamel, both parties dwelt on the scope and potential of the zakah fund. The idea was to mobilize the enormous resources of the Gulf and other countries for the benefit of the poor people.