Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam. The law of zakat is obligatory on all muslims, but many of them still did not implement it. According to the research conducted by the Badan Amil Zakat Nasional (BAZNAS) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) potential zakat in Indonesia in 2012 amounted to Rp.217 trillion (RM58 billion/ USD18 billion), but the collection of zakat in 2013 only Rp.2.1 trillion (RM650 juta/ USD200 juta) or around one per cent. The Indonesian muslims population are 210 million peoples (BPS-Statistic Indonesia: 2012), but the collection and distribution of zakat distinction is still far from its potential. The imbalance between the amount collected and the potential zakat is a major problem. This paper focuses on the role of government in the implementation of zakat in Islam and confront the government of Indonesia and Malaysia’s role in the management of zakat. Studies show that the Islamic view on the management of the zakat as the sole ruler and as punishment for defaulting lender to pay zakat is very important, because it relates to improving the welfare of society and as one of the country’s financial resources. In Indonesia zakat management is still done by private institutions, communities and individuals that anyone can do it either with or without permission from the government. As a result the government should take over the management of zakat, as is the case in Malaysia, management of zakat is done by the government/state, so collection of zakat will increase and distribution of zakat will be effective, efficient and even at national lavel, although there are still people who can collect or distribute zakat, but must be with the consent of the government/local-state