Like many throughout the pandemic, Harta Suci Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (MAIWP) faced challenges of operating as usual. Zakat collection as known to Malaysians are done through counters situated either in malls or mobile booths that are present in several locations.
With the imposition of the first Movement Control Order, Syazani Shahidil Kahar, business representative of Harta Suci and his team came to accept that pivoting had to take place. The decision to do so was further strengthened as more MCOs were imposed throughout the year and well into 2021 as well.
Harta Suci has presence and authority to collect Zakat in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan and with the arrival of the pandemic, all counters had to be closed down. Resorting to making exceptions to collections during the early months of Covid-19 stricken 2020, Syazani tells Business Today that the transition towards digitalising the collection method began as soon as within the first three months of the pandemic.
“With all on ground and field activities disrupted, we could not go for long without operating but instead decided to tap into allocated funds to collaborate with several service providers to enhance our service,” he says.
In pivoting, Harta Suci resorted to enabling several digital channels which allowed the Muslim community to pay through cashless payment channels. “We had no choice but to convert all our activities that previously took place in a face-to-face method to setting up zoom calls with the community,” he adds.
The Digital Way Forward
Harta Suci began to seek out services that would help them to begin their digital transition. Their collaboration with digital service providers for instance helped to set up an omni-channel feature.
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Despite facing challenges such as convincing the older members of the community to resort to online channels to pay their Zakat, Harta Suci says eventually everyone adapted to the new normal, and this allowed them to even launch new services, one for instance, is the Zakat+.
“This new normal was not only new to us but it was new to everyone we have worked with. Our team knew that they had no choice to evolve along with the business.”
In addition to Zakat+, Harta Suci is also planning to introduce door-to-door services and mobile counters to prevent traffic at their physical counters.
Syazani further shares that after introducing the new digital channels, they went on to intensify these channels to provide further convenience for the Muslim communities they serve.
As a result, Harta Suci managed to increase their collection in 2020 by 11%, making the year’s Zakat collection the highest in the company’s 30 years of service. This, the team attributed to digital solutions that were integrated into the business operations.
For both 2021 and 2022 Zakat Collection, Harta Suci believes while they cannot achieve a similar number, but are confident they will be able to see a steady 6 – 8 % increase from 2019.
“We are aiming to target around RM800 million for both 2021 and 2022 and I am optimistic that the digital solutions that we have now will enable us in achieving the target,” he concludes.
Tips and Advice
Syazani has also urged other businesses and founders to digitalise their operations to ride and adapt to the digital wave that is sweeping across the nation. Speaking from his own experience of leading Harta Suci through the early challenges of the pandemic, he says concerns of adopting digital solutions can only be resolved by weighing in options from different service providers and deciding which works best.
“I take this opportunity to ask others to invest in the right digital channels as it will enable a more efficient process not only for themselves as a business but also for their customers.
“Additionally, businesses should also look at diversifying their options to keep more their revenue options open. This is also part of adapting to the new normal,” he says.
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