The Model of Developing and Establishing Public Trust of Zakat-Paying Community in East Java

Abstract

Through government law and regulations, a decree has been issued regarding zakat management organization under the auspices of central and regional governments, but within several years the organization which was initially able to raise funds up to hundreds of billions of rupiah has failed to remain consistent in the past five years. Many muzaki (zakat payers) switch to channeling funds managed by private sector rather than those governed by the government. Therefore, it is imperative to study zakat management from the point of view of public administration, especially with regard to zakat management and public trust. The present study applied qualitative descriptive method through survey, 42 zakat managers and administrators of the Badan Amil Zakat (BAZ) and Layanan Amil Zakat (LAZ) as well as 180 respondents paying zakat chosen by random sampling. Data was collected through observation, interviews, and questionnaires, as well as documentation. The results of the study indicate that there are efforts considered quite optimal in building the trust of the community paying zakat by arranging the system with fine transparency and accountability that can be accessed by the public. Distribution patterns can also be obvious to the public. In addition, the ease of obtaining information regarding technical matters of payment and distribution of zakat can be accessible to the public through online media, as well as news bulletins and institutional wall magazines. Public trust itself is seen as quite positive towards zakat management institutions, so the decrease in zakat collection by related zakat management institutions (BAZ and LAZ) in the last few years has been influenced by the choice and convenience of zakat payers in private institutions that have become operative, coupled with the need for accreditation that assesses the competence of zakat management institutions.

Keywords: zakat management, organizational development, public trust