KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — The Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) will investigate allegations that three Muslim single mothers had to seek financial assistance from the church after their aid application was rejected by the zakat or related agencies.

Its minister Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mohamad said he would definitely have offered assistance to the individuals had he known about the matter.

He said this to reporters after officiating the Semarak Lailatul Qadar and Get Together Programme with principals of tahfiz and pondok schools in the Federal Territories at Maahad Tahfiz Al Faridiyah in Taman Sri Rampai, here today.

Also present was Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) director Datuk Mohd Ajib Ismail.

Yesterday, a news portal reported that three single mothers had been seeking help from the church over the past few years after the zakat institutions and related agencies rejected their aid application.

On the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) related to Haj and Umrah, Zulkifli said Saudi Arabia has yet to decide whether the annual pilgrimage would be allowed for this year.

"Let us all pray to Allah for this pandemic to be over,” he said.

At the event, 41 tahfiz and pondok schools registered with Jawi received donations in the form of basic food items such as rice, flour, sugar and cooking oil. — Bernama