Islamic social bank: an adaptation of Islamic banking?

Islamic banking is an experiment of the viability of Islamic economy with the aim to fulfil the socioeconomic justice that balances the material and social aspects of finance. However, the current practice of Islamic banking has yet to address the moral issues in promoting a balance between social and economic justice. Consequently, some scholars suggested that it is timely to learn from the experience of social banking model; that is an articulation of a sustainable and CSR oriented banking model in fulfilling the developmental needs of Muslim societies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to introduce the idea of Islamic social banking based on the aspiration of Islamic moral economy. This paper will also discuss the social and sustainable features of social banking from an Islamic view which importantly will lead to social and economic development. The implication of the study is to fulfil the developmental needs of the Muslims in alleviating poverty and uplifting the social status by introducing a social bank which is Shari’ah compliance

Islamic social bank: an adaptation of Islamic banking?

Islamic banking is an experiment of the viability of Islamic economy with the aim to fulfil the socioeconomic justice that balances the material and social aspects of finance. However, the current practice of Islamic banking has yet to address the moral issues in promoting a balance between social and economic justice. Consequently, some scholars suggested that it is timely to learn from the experience of social banking model; that is an articulation of a sustainable and CSR oriented banking model in fulfilling the developmental needs of Muslim societies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to introduce the idea of Islamic social banking based on the aspiration of Islamic moral economy. This paper will also discuss the social and sustainable features of social banking from an Islamic view which importantly will lead to social and economic development. The implication of the study is to fulfil the developmental needs of the Muslims in alleviating poverty and uplifting the social status by introducing a social bank which is Shari’ah compliance

Effect of ar-Rahnu relationship value on long-term relationship between customer and institutions

Ar-Rahnu is a concept of Islamic debt with pledged item. In Malaysia, Ar-Rahnu concept is applied by Islamic pawn broking industry. Thus, the practitioners called Islamic Pawn broking product as “Ar-Rahnu.” There are no studies that conceptualize relationship value of Ar-Rahnu and its dimensions as the decisive factor in Ar-Rahnu development in Malaysia. Study of long-term relationship between customer and institutions can be an indicator of Ar-Rahnu development. The long-term relationship study proves and verifies the transparency of business. However, the study about the decisive factors of long-term relationship in Ar-Rahnu industry is lacked. The aim of this paper is to prove the effect of Ar-Rahnu relationship value and its dimensions towards the long-term relationship between customer and institutions. This research is conducted among Ar-Rahnu customers within seven Ar-Rahnu institutions which are situated in Central Zone of Malaysia. Two hundred and six respondents were selected to answer a set of adapted questionnaires. The conceptual model of this paper has been validated by the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The analysis of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) shows that all the dimensions of Ar-Rahnu ‘benefits’ produce a significant effect on long-term relationship but the ‘sacrifices’ give insignificant effect. The finding can improve the shariah justification on Islamic pawn broking. The value of this study lies in its effort to propose to practitioners the enhancement of marketing system regarding the most preferences and matter of concern by customers about Ar-Rahnu product

Challenges of profit-and-loss sharing financing in Malaysian Islamic banking

There are challenges faced by the profit-and-loss sharing (PLS) financing in Islamic banking institutions in Malaysia. PLS financing is comprised of mudharabah and musharakah contracts. This study evaluated the application and modus operandi of mudharabah and musharakah contracts before dwelling into the challenges. While musharakah contract involves contribution of capital and labor by both the investor and the entrepreneur, mudharabah contract allows the investor to provide the capital and only the entrepreneur operates the business. In terms of return on investment, both partners share the profit or loss based on the pre-agreed ratio for musharakah; but only the capital provider bears the loss for mudharabah as the entrepreneur already forgone his or her effort for the project. In examining the challenges, we had conducted several interview sessions with Malaysian Islamic banks that offer PLS financing. The findings showed that there were four major obstacles to PLS financing such as high risk of investment; difficulty in selecting appropriate partners; demand comes from low credit worthiness customers; and lack of capital security

Riding the waves of social commerce: an empirical study of Malaysian entrepreneurs

The emergence of social media has made it possible for a person with internet connection to communicate with thousands of other people. Because of the heavy usage of social media there is substantial interest in making this medium a commercial site, particularly among entrepreneurs who want to explore the potential of their businesses. Any entrepreneur can experience various benefits and effects from advertising their products and services on social media, including an increase in the number of fans and advertisement views and/or an increase in sales and return on investment as social media channel product and business information to targeted customers at a minimal cost. However, there are limited studies on social media, particularly how it affects business interaction, which formed the focus of this study. Face-to-face surveys were conducted involving 105 Malaysian entrepreneurs who had access to social media. The findings revealed that most entrepreneurs in this study believed that social commerce is the future way of doing their businesses. In fact, they believed that every entrepreneur needs to engage with social media as they would not only allow the entrepreneur to discuss his products and services with other people but also assist him to make vital and critical business decisions

Fostering Millennial Entrepreneurship Students – Issues and Challenges

Governments worldwide have increasingly recognized their interest in entrepreneurship and have introduced it to various settings, not only among the officials but also schools and Higher Education Institutions (HEI). Many incentives have been given to those who embark on entrepreneurship. The Malaysian government has made all colleges in Malaysia introduce entrepreneurships courses to make students aware of the importance of entrepreneurships. Thus, there are questions were raised on the effectiveness of the entrepreneurship programme in the university. Moreover, and the kinds of improvements that need to be embedded in these programmes. This study is among the first to explore this issue by gathering information from the students majoring in entrepreneurship and who are recently graduated. Both quantitative and qualitative methods have been adopted to get the details of the issues being studied. Thirty-three students were surveyed, and ten respondents were called for semi-structured interviews. Many students stated that they were not ready to become an entrepreneur entrepreneurs because they are were really not confidence confident in doing so, and some said they needed to work to get some money and experience first. Some stated that the programme should be improved by creating an entrepreneurship ecosystem among students and lecturers. This study contributes to entrepreneurship education literature by enhancing understanding of the needs of students during the entrepreneurial learning process. In practice, this study offers raze and valuable insights into how to design and implement designing and implementing an effective HEI entrepreneurship training programme. Keywords: entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education, effectiveness, higher learning institution, Malaysi

Analisis teknikal dan implikasinya terhadap kecekapan pasaran saham di Malaysia

Objektif utama kajian ini adalah untuk menguji semula kecekapan pasaran saham di Malaysia dengan mengaplikasikan strategi urusniaga analisis teknikal. Kecekapan pasaran diuji berdasarkan keuntungan yang dijana daripada penggunaan isyarat beli yang diperoleh daripada gabungan indikator teknikal Bollinger Band (BB) dan Exponential Moving Average 200 (EMA200) serta isyarat jual yang diperoleh daripada enam indikator teknikal; Bollingger Upper dan Middle Band, Simple Moving Average, Relative Strength Index, Stochastic, dan Moving Average Convergence Divergence. Isyarat-isyarat ini dikesan menggunakan RHB Trade Smart yang merupakan salah satu perisian kontemporari analisis teknikal. Aplikasi RHB Trade Smart terhadap semua saham yang tersenarai di Bursa Malaysia daripada 1 Januari 2015 hingga 31 Ogos 2015 telah menghasilkan satu sampel 123 isyarat beli. Tempoh pengesanan isyarat beli dihadkan sehingga 31 Ogos untuk memberi ruang selama 2 bulan bagi memastikan setiap isyarat beli dapat dipadankan dengan sekurang-kurangnya satu isyarat jual yang dikenal pasti daripada enam indikator teknikal tersebut. Hasilnya, kesemua isyarat beli memperoleh padanan isyarat jual daripada keenam-enam indikator teknikal kecuali satu yang melibatkan indikator Moving Average. Secara keseluruhan, kajian mendapati pulangan bersih (selepas ditolak kos transaksi) daripada setiap indikator teknikal adalah abnormal. Secara ekonomi, setiap indikator teknikal menghasil sekurang-kurangnya 13 peratus per 21-hari bulan transaksi (bersamaan 156% per tahun). Secara statistik, pulangan ini berbeza daripada sifar secara signifikan. Dapatan kajian ini mengukuhkan lagi bukti bahawa pasaran saham di Malaysia masih belum mencapai tahap kecekapan pada tahap lemah. Keadaan ini mungkin boleh dijelaskan dengan kurangnya penglibatan pelabur aktif dalam pasaran saham, khususnya yang mampu mengeksploitasi kecanggihan teknologi (perisian analisis teknikal) untuk membuat ramalan dan mengambil peluang dari perubahan dalam pasaran saham

Trust motivates funders to participate in Shari’ah crowdfunding

The fourth industrial revolution has influenced many sector including Islamic Finance. The digital revolution has changed the traditional crowdfunding through the usage of technology with smart applications on mobile phones and websites. Among the advantage of crowdfunding is its accessibility, fast transaction, security, transparency, traceability and many more. Through crowdfunding platforms, financial inclusion groups could be reached. Hence, the demand for Shari’ah crowdfunding increases to fulfil the Muslims developmental needs in providing for projects that are compliant according to Shari’ah. Shari’ah crowdfunding platform such as Shekra, Yomken, Ethiscrowd, Waqfworld, KapitalBoost and many more attempts to realize the needs of Muslim society. These activities utilize the financial technology (FinTech) approach via social media or smartphone apps. Although FinTech is widely used nowadays, there is an issue of trust from the investors in gaining their interest to invest in Shari’ah crowdfunding projects since it is virtual. Hence, this study explores the possibility of funder’s motivation to invest in crowdfunding projects from the perspective of trust. This conceptual study highlights the element of trust from three elements which are calculus trust, relationship trust and religiosity (Islam). For future research, the study on trust from a social capital perspective would add value in contributing to the development of digital economy

Elucidation of supply chain integration in halal food industry

Much has been written about the importance of supply chain integration in determining firm performance. Moreover, for halal food production that is depending upon the wholesomeness in the supply chain, the external integration is crucial. However, there are scarce literature and managerial guide that focus on supply chain integration in the halal food industry. The aim of this research is to provide empirical evidence in explaining supply chain integration in the context of the halal food industry through a survey from 275 firms. The results provide strong empirical evidence on integrative activities and supply chain integration practices of halal food firms in Malaysian. In addition, the paper offers propositions on how supply chain integration may play their role in contributing to performance enhancement in the complex halal food industr

Impak kepercayaan dan kesetiaan pendeposit Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) terhadap risiko kecairan

Kebelakangan ini, Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) telah terpalit dengan pelbagai tohmahan yang telah menyebabkan reputasi TH dipertikaikan. Hal ini telah mendapat reaksi daripada pendeposit sehingga menyebabkan kepercayaan dan kesetiaan pendeposit tergugat dan mereka mula mengeluarkan simpanan. Kajian ini bertujuan melihat faktor penentu kepercayaan dan kesetiaan dan melihat sama ada faktor kepercayaan dan kesetiaan bertindak sebagai faktor penengah (mediating factor) kepada risiko kecairan TH. Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah pensampelan tujuan (purposive sampling) dan sebanyak 200 orang responden menjawab soal selidik secara atas talian dan secara langsung. Analisis menggunakan teknik PLS-SEM mendapati kepercayaan bertindak sebagai faktor penengah hubungan antara maklumat kewangan, jaminan deposit, kualiti perkhidmatan dan imej dengan risiko kecairan. Selain itu, kesetiaan bertindak sebagai faktor penengah hubungan antara kualiti perkhidmatan, kepuasan pelanggan, dan imej dengan risiko kecairan. Oleh itu, ketelusan tadbir urus korporat perlu dititikberatkan untuk memperbaiki segala aspek yang sepatutnya dan dalam masa yang sama mengembalikan semula kepercayaan dan kesetiaan para pendeposit. Hasil kajian ini diharapkan dapat membantu pengurusan TH terutamanya dan kerajaan umumnya untuk mengambil tindakan yang sewajarnya dalam mengurus risiko kecairan bagi mengekalkan kedudukan TH sebagai institusi kewangan Islam yang kukuh pada masa hadapan