THE government should reject the proposal from the National Zakat (obligatory alms) Agency (Baznas), which wants a 2.5 percent deduction from the salaries of civil servants and private employees to pay the alms obligatory for all Muslims, known as zakat. But alms, like prayers and fasting, is a private matter that the state must not intervene in. Let muzaki (those obliged to pay zakat), chose their own way.

The small amount o