Rice ATM to ease burden of the poor

KUALA LUMPUR: There is an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at a mosque in Kampung Datuk Keramat, but it dispenses rice, not money.

The rice ATM at the AlAkram Mosque is the first of its kind in the country. It dispenses rice for the “asnaf” (zakat/tithe beneficiaries) and also has a donation slot for those wishing to contribute funds to replenish the rice.

The machine was launched at the mosque on Feb 22 by the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (JAWI) Director Mohd Ajib Ismail.

Nearly 200 residents of Kampung Datuk Keramat attended the ceremony, which saw 10 asnaf receiving their “rice ATM cards”.

Mohd Ajib told Bernama that the mosque had conducted a thorough screening for eligible recipients. Those selected were issued a special card embedded with a smart chip.

“To date, 50 recipients have been selected and and they are all registered with the mosque. However, only 10 of the beneficiaries were able to attend,” he said.

Mohd Ajib said using the rice ATM was easy. Recipients only need to tap their card onto the machine’s sensor and 2kg of rice would be dispensed.

“However, there is a withdrawal limit. The machine allows each recipient to withdraw only 2kg a week. Once they have withdrawn for the week, they would have to wait until the following week before they can withdraw again,” he explained.

The machine is capable of storing a maximum of 240kg of rice at any given time. There is a donation slot that allows those who wish to contribute for subsequent rice purchases to donate cash.

“Our goal is to ease and encourage charity,” he said.

This writer learned that the ATM is currently in operation only on Fridays, from 7am to 6pm. Recipients can come at any time during that time slot to retrieve rice from the machine.

Beneficiaries who are unable to make it to the mosque during the time frame can pass their card to a trusted representative to retrieve their portion for them.

The machine was first created in Indonesia and is currently in use in over 100 mosques in the country. Many praised the innovative technology and shared it on social media, which was how Malaysians came to learn about it.

It was donated to the mosque by a magnanimous local company owner who imported the ATM into the country.