Implementation of Moratorium by Islamic Banks During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Maqasid Shariah Perspective

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented health and economic crisis. The significant measures adopted by most countries to contain the virus by implementing movement control order (MCO) led to an economic downturn. The decision to implement the lockdown follows the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country where 8,290 new Covid-19 cases reported on 28th May 2021. The lockdown will definitely cause hardship for the economic wellbeing of the people. Hence, this paper examines the central bank policy implication on the practice of moratorium after the first MCO on 18th March 2020 to support the people and company that badly affected by the lockdown for them to pay their loan and financing. The paper highlight the issue and challenges in the implementation of moratorium by Islamic banks. Furthermore, the study will provide policy implications and importantly to support the value-based intermediation for Islamic banks to fulfil the Maqasid Shariah

Synthesis of activated carbon from spent tea leaves for aspirin removal

Adsorption capacity of activated carbon prepared from spent tea leaves (STL-AC) for the removal of aspirin from aqueous solution was investigated in this study. Preliminary studies have shown that treatment with phosphoric acid (H3PO4) increased removal efficiency of STL-AC. Characterizations on STL-AC revealed excellent textural properties (1200 m2·g− 1, 51% mesoporosity), as well as distinctive surface chemistry (1.08 mmol·g− 1 and 0.54 mmol·g− 1 for acidic and basic oxygenated groups, pHpzc = 2.02). Maximum removal efficiency of aspirin observed was 94.28% after 60 min when the initial concentration was 100 mg·L− 1, 0.5 g of adsorbent used, pH 3 and at a temperature of 30 °C. The adsorption data were well fitted to the Freundlich isotherm model and obeyed the pseudo-second order kinetics model. The adsorption of aspirin onto STL-AC was exothermic in nature (ΔHϴ = − 13.808 kJ·mol− 1) and had a negative entropy change, ΔSϴ (− 41.444 J·mol− 1). A negative Gibbs free energy, ΔGϴ was obtained indicating feasibility and spontaneity of the adsorption process. The adsorption capacity of AC-STL (178.57 mg·g− 1) is considerably high compared to most adsorbents synthesized from various sources, due to the well-defined textural properties coupled with surface chemistry of STL-AC which favors aspirin adsorption. The results demonstrate the potential of STL-AC as aspirin adsorbent

Optimization of phenol adsorption onto biochar from oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB)

Malaysia, as one of the leading palm oil producers in the world faces problems in disposal of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB), which can be converted into various value-added products, including adsorbents. This study investigated the adsorption of phenol from its solution using biochar produced from EFB through carbonization. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with Box-Behnken design was used to investigate the effects of three parameters (temperature, time and heating rate) during carbonization on phenol removal by the biochar produced. This was followed by process optimization based on statistical analysis. The results indicated that the optimized carbonization conditions were; 500 °C for temperature, 10 °C/min of heating rate and 80 min for reaction timwhich led to 7.57% of phenol removal. SEM revealed coarse and uneven surface of the biochar surface, with small degree of pore development. Comparison between FTIR spectrum of EFB and biochar revealed the loss water and hydroxyl compounds from EFB during carbonization. The lack of oxygenated groups (especially carbonyl groups) on the adsorbent surface as well as limited number of pores were the possible reasons leading to low phenol adsorption by biochar, therefore conversion of the biochar to activated carbon was necessary for higher adsorption performance

Facile synthesis of polyethylenimine-modified sugarcane bagasse adsorbent for removal of anionic dye in aqueous solution

Many studies have reported that surface modification of various type of materials by using polyethylenimine (PEI), usually necessitate to be combined with the crosslinkers, namely glutaradehyde, sodium tripolyphosphate, etc. The sugarcane bagasse (SB) is a fibrous agricultural waste derived from sugarcane stalks residue which has rich-cellulose content that makes it amenable to surface functionalization for tailored application. Thus, it is possible for SB material to modify by using solely PEI and eliminate crosslinking step. In this study, SB was used as supporting material for modified PEI to produce polyethylenimine-modified sugarcane bagasse (PmSB) for the adsorption of Reactive Black 5 (RB5) dyes from aqueous solution. The effects of contact time (60 – 300 min), adsorbent dosage (0.05 – 0.15 g); initial dye concentration (0.01 – 0.10 g/L), pH (5 - 9) and temperature (30 – 70 °C) were varied to evaluate the performance of the PSB under different experimental conditions. The kinetics study revealed that the adsorption experimental data fitted the pseudo second order model. The equilibrium adsorption data also fitted the Langmuir model with R2 of 0.99 and maximum monolayer capacity of 25 mg/g. The thermodynamic parameters suggest that the RB5 dye adsorption by PEI modified SB was spontaneous, exothermic and exhibited chemisorption. The adsorbent can be regenerated up to 4 cycles with the percentage dye removal greater than 80%). Therefore, the PmBS adsorbent has proven that the PEI is solely sufficient as modifying agents for SB material, even without an assistance of crosslinker reagents for removal of RB5 dye in aqueous solution

The impact of zakat contribution on the financial performance of Islamic banks in Malaysia

Islamic banks in Malaysia are beginning to response to calls for financial services that are responsible in providing social development impacts to the nation. Malaysia’s value-based intermediation strategy, initiated by the Bank Negara Malaysia is expected to move the Islamic finance industry to the next level of sustainable and long term economic development. Islamic banks are expected to not only focus on profit but also on contribution to societies through Islamic social finance. The traditional methods of Islamic social finance especially on the contribution of zakāt, waqf and ṣadaqah have been used to provide for the basic means of livelihood for the poor. Not only that, this shows that Islamic banks do not only concern on making profits but making contribution to the societies by involving in Islamic social finance through corporate social responsibility. Specifically, this study examines the impact of corporate social responsibilities particularly on the application of Islamic social finance which is zakāt contribution by Islamic banks on their financial performances namely return on assets, return on equity and operating profit. This study focuses on Islamic banks in Malaysia from 2011 to 2018. The financial information is extracted from Fitch Connect and annual reports of the respective Islamic banks which include 15 Islamic banks in Malaysia. The panel regression method was adopted to explain the three models and examine the impact of Islamic social finance on the financial performances of Islamic banks. The findings show that zakāt contribution has positive significant impact on Islamic banks’ financial performance namely operating profit. Hence, the findings of this study offer policy implications by providing empirical evidence on the importance of Islamic social finance on the financial performance of Islamic banks

Adsorption of anionic dyes on spent tea leaves modified with polyethyleneimine (PEI-STL)

This paper investigates the adsorption performance of spent tea leaves (STL) modified with polyethylenimine (PEI) on two anionic dyes, namely Reactive Black 5 (RB5) and Methyl Orange (MO), from simulated wastewater. Modification of STL surface with PEI reduced the STL surface area. Abundant basic groups and high point of zero charge were found for PEI-STL. Adsorption capacities of 71.9 mg/g (RB5) and 62.11 mg/g (MO) on PEI-STL were recorded. The adsorption performance of PEI-STL increased with contact time until 100 min, when it became nearly constant. Increasing pH resulted in lower adsorption performance of PEI-STL on RB5 and MO. A positive correlation between adsorbent dosage and adsorption performance of PEI-STL was also observed. Higher temperature promoted the adsorption performance of RB5 dyes, but reduced the adsorption performance of MO. It is proposed that the dyes adsorption proceeds via electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding between dyes molecules and adsorbent, while the role of pore filling is minimal. This study demonstrates the superior property of PEI-STL in adsorption of RB5 and MO dyes without carbonization and activation

Removal of acetaminophen by activated carbon synthesized from spent tea leaves: equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics studies

Recently, pharmaceutical compounds have been identified as Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) in wastewater due to the potential hazards to human bodies, and various methods are being developed to remove CEC from wastewater and water bodies. This research reports conversion of spent tea leaves (STL) to activated carbon (AC) for removal of acetaminophen (paracetamol) from simulated wastewater. STL-AC prepared via phosphoric acid activation (STL-ACH) showed the highest adsorption performance towards acetaminophen when compared to STL-AC activated by other chemicals. Characterizations on STL-ACH revealed that acid treatment led to dehydration and chemical reactions in the biomass precursor. The maximum removal efficiency of aspirin observed at the initial concentration of 10 mg/L, adsorbent dose of 0.5 g, pH 3 at room temperature and reaction time of 60 min. The adsorption data were well fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model and obeyed the pseudo-second order kinetics model. The adsorption capacity of STL-ACH towards acetaminophen was found to be 59.2 mg/g. The adsorption process is exothermic, feasible and spontaneous according to the thermodynamic evaluation. This study demonstrates the feasibility to convert one common biowaste to a value-added product that removes contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) from wastewater, thus it is necessary to investigate the potential of STL-ACH in wastewater treatment application

Validasi kaedah kromatografi cecair berprestasi tinggi (HPLC) jenis penukar ion dan perbandingannya terhadap HPLC jenis fasa berbalik bagi penentuan jumlah homosisteina

Kajian ini dijalankan untuk menilai kemampuan kaedah penentuan jumlah homosisteina dalam plasma dengan menggunakan kromatografi cecair berprestasi tinggi jenis penukar ion (HPLC-IEC) dan membandingkan kaedah ini dengan kit komersil yang menggunakan kromatografi cecair berprestasi tinggi jenis fasa berbalik (HPLC-RPC). Validasi kaedah bagi penentuan jumlah homosisteina menggunakan HPLC-IEC telah dilakukan mengikut panduan yang dikeluarkan oleh Jabatan Standard Malaysia. Sebanyak 57 sampel daripada pesakit yang dihantar untuk penentuan jumlah homosisteina telah diuji secara serentak untuk menentukan korelasi antara kedua kaedah tersebut. Hasil kajian ini mendapati bahawa validasi kaedah ini telah memenuhi keperluan ISO MS 15189 dan kelinearan sehingga 500 μM dengan pekali penentuan, r2 ialah 0.999. Kepersisan yang dikaji pada aras normal (10 μM) dan aras berpenyakit/abnormal (60 μM) bagi kebolehulangan adalah masing-masing 3.2% dan 3.8% manakala bagi kebolehasilan semula masing-masing adalah 8.0% dan 8.3%. Had pengesanan dan had pengiraan yang diperoleh adalah 0.9274 dan 3.0912 μM. Keputusan ketepatan bagi kembalian semula adalah 92% dan bias adalah -8.6%. Perbandingan kaedah yang telah divalidasi dengan kit komersil menunjukkan hubungan korelasi yang kuat antara kedua-dua kaedah ini (y = 0.721x + 4.034; r = 0.978; p<0.05). Oleh yang demikian, kaedah penentuan jumlah homosisteina menggunakan HPLC-IEC menunjukkan kepersisan yang memuaskan dan korelasi yang kuat setara dengan kit komersil yang dianalisis menggunakan HPLC-RPC. Kaedah ini lebih menjimatkan kos reagen dan mampu menganalisis lebih banyak sampel jika dibandingkan dengan kit komersil. Ini sekaligus dapat membantu dalam diagnosis bagi penyakit kepincangan metabolisme terwaris (IEM) terutama dalam metabolisme homosisteina dengan tepat

Measuring customer satisfaction on the cleanliness of food premises using fuzzy conjoint analysis: a pilot test

Determining the level of customer satisfaction in cleanliness regarding a product or service is a significant aspect of businesses. However, the availability of feedback tools for consumers to evaluate the cleanliness of a restaurant is a crucial issue as several aspects of cleanliness need to be evaluated collectively. To overcome this issue, this study designed a survey instrument based on the standard form used for grading the food premises and transformed it into a seven Likert scale questionnaire and consists of seven questions. This study employed fuzzy conjoint analysis to measure the level of satisfaction in cleanliness in food premises. This pilot study recruited 30 students in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Seremban 3. The student’s perception was represented by the scores calculated based on their degree of similarities and corresponding levels of satisfaction, whereby, only scores with the highest degree of similarity were selected. Furthermore, this study identified the aspects of hygiene that assessed based on the customers’ satisfaction upon visiting the premises. The results indicated that the fuzzy conjoint analysis produced a similar outcome as the statistical mean, thus, was useful for the evaluation of customer satisfaction on the cleanliness of food premises