Bank Rakyat hands over RM2-million zakat to Tabung Baitulmal Sarawak

KUCHING: Bank Rakyat handed over more than RM2 million in business zakat to Tabung Baitulmal Sarawak (TBS) for the 2025 financial year.

The contribution was handed over at the Astana Negeri Sarawak today in conjunction with Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Steven Sim Chee Keong’s courtesy visit to Head of State, Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

Sim said the success of a financial institution should not only be measured through its business performance, but also by how it benefits the wider community.

“When businesses grow, the benefits must also return to the community. The distribution of zakat reflects how strong business performance can be translated into greater social impact,” he said.

Steven Sim (second left) together with Head of State, Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (second right), during the courtesy visit at Astana Negeri Sarawak.

Bank Rakyat has channelled a total of RM17.4 million in business zakat to Sarawak from 2016 to 2025, highlighting its continued contribution towards the state’s socioeconomic development.

According to Sim, more than RM800 million in financing had been channelled to 32,000 entrepreneurs and cooperatives in Sarawak as of August 31 through agencies under KUSKOP.

The financing was provided through Bank Rakyat, TEKUN Nasional, SME Bank, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, SME Corp. Malaysia and Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia (SKM).

Sarawak currently has 77,098 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and 1,212 cooperatives with more than 323,000 members.

Sim added that KUSKOP will continue working with the state government and relevant agencies to expand access to financing, strengthen business capacity and support the sustainable growth of local entrepreneurs.