Muslims Advised To Demand Transparency In Overseas Sacrificial Ritual Packages 

From Abdul Rahman Fahmi Abdul Aziz

KAMPOT (CAMBODIA), May 27 (Bernama) -- Muslims participating in korban (sacrificial ritual) packages are advised to demand transparency regarding the actual management costs from the organisers to ensure the proper fulfilment of the ritual.

Bank Rakyat Group executive vice-president of Syariah Mohd Zamerey Abdul Razak said this step is important to prevent participants from becoming victims, especially in matters involving surplus funds that are not declared by management representatives.

He said the korban ritual performed overseas is based on a wakalah (representation) contract, since participants do not directly see the physical animal, and any remaining balance from the cattle purchase still legally belongs to the participants.

“In overseas korban cases, participants appoint organisers to purchase the cows. When there is surplus money, it actually still belongs to the participants, and organisers are obliged to ask permission on how it should be managed.

“The organisers must inform participants whether the surplus is to be refunded, used as additional service fees or donated to the mosque. They cannot stay silent because this is akin to taking other people’s property without right,” he said when met at Maahad Imam Syafi’e Kampung Keh here today.

Elaborating, Mohd Zamerey said the actual cost of livestock in foreign countries, such as Cambodia, usually varies according to the size of the animal and the location of the chosen village.

This situation, he said, would indirectly create a financial surplus when compared to the fixed bulk package price offered to participants in Malaysia.

As such, he advised the public not to take the financial management of such packages lightly, simply because they are religious programmes. 

“The generous attitude of our society sometimes makes them easily deceived. When religion is involved, many feel it is inappropriate to be calculative.

“As a result, many participants do not realise that there is excess money from the original amount they paid, which may be taken without their knowledge and proper declaration,” he said.

Mohd Zamerey said that participants have the right to ask the organisers about the breakdown of costs in a prudent manner so that the status of their contribution is fully clear.

-- BERNAMA