Knowledge, Acceptance and Application of Islamic Financial Management among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Halal Entrepreneurs in Peninsular of Malaysia

The Halal industry in Malaysia has created employment opportunities especially among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). High demand for Halal products especially from Islamic countries has transformed the development of this sector into a national priority. In the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP), the competitiveness of the Halal industry was given special emphasis by the Prime Minister. In Asia, Malaysia has long been considered as a leader in the development of the Halal sector.  However, the Halal industry is not only about Halal food production, but also covers Islamic finance services which prohibit interest (riba), uncertainties (gharar) and gambling (maysir). Islamic financial management is one of the important parts of Islamic finance because it plays a big role in providing Shariah-compliant funds and investment opportunities especially for the SME Halal entrepreneur. The holistic approach to the Halal industry should also cover not only food production but also Islamic financial management which includes activities such as how to create, increase, purify and to protect wealth from an Islamic perspective. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between the knowledge and acceptance of Islamic finance, and the application of Islamic financial management among halal entrepreneurs in Peninsular Malaysia. The findings of this study reveal that the knowledge and acceptance of Islamic finance is significantly correlated with the application of Islamic financial management among halal operators of SMEs. This indicates that to integrate the Halal industry with Islamic financial management activities, Halal entrepreneurs should be able to know and accept the Islamic finance principles. This will, in turn, facilitate the promotion of Malaysia’s Halal industries on the global stage. Keywords: Halal Industry, SMEs Halal entrepreneur, Islamic Financial Managemen

Acceptance and application of Islamic financial planning among small and medium enterprises Halal operator in Peninsular of Malaysia

Halal Industry in Malaysia has created employment opportunities especially among Small, medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). High demand for Halal products especially from Islamic countries has put Halal industry as one of the national agenda priorities. In the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP), the halal industry had been given special emphasis by the Prime Minister to ensuring the halal industry is highly and persistently competitive. In Asia, Malaysia has been considered as a leader in the development of the Halal hub center. However, halal industry is not only about halal food production, but also it covers Islamic finance services which prohibit interest (riba), uncertainties (gharar) and gambling (maysir). Islamic financial planning is one of the important parts of Islamic finance because it plays a big role in providing Shariah compliant funds and investment opportunities especially for SMEs halal operators. The holistic approach to halal industry should also cover not only halal food production, but also Islamic financial planning which includes activities such as how to create, increase, purify and to protect wealth from Islamic perspective. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between acceptance of Islamic finance and the application of Islamic financial planning among SMEs halal operators in Peninsular Malaysia. The findings of this study reveal that the acceptance of Islamic finance was significantly correlated with the application of Islamic financial planning among SMEs halal operator. These finding indicated the important of integration between acceptance on the Halal industry with Islamic financial planning activities. SMEs Halal operators should be able to accept the Islamic finance principles. This relationship recognises the importance of acceptance and practice of Islamic financial planning among halal SMEs operators in promoting halal products and services and boost demand for Malaysian halal products at the international level

The importance of sustainability in public transport / Muhamad Aiman Afiq Mohd Noor... [et al.]

Public transportation is a shared passenger transport service provided to transit people which is available for public usage. Public transport also is one of the solution to the sustainability system. Environmental issues become the main topic on these days and one of the causes is emission from a vehicle. The purpose of this study is to understand the principles, problems. and approaches of discipline on sustainability in public transportation. The objectives of the research are to identify what is sustainability transportation impacts on environmental, to analyses the importance of public transport in terms of sustamabihty. and to determine the existing approaches from different discipline for attract people to use public transport. The qualitative interview was used to get primary data and data collection as a secondary data used for gather the information from journals. articles, news, and website. The research is focused on bus and scope at Lembah valley area in Malaysia. The research have found the opportunity of using public transport that become major role in sustainability system in Malaysia

Expression of GBS virulence genes in high vaginal swabs of symptomatic pregnant women at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Kuantan

During pregnancy, group B streptococcus (GBS) colonization is known as one of the risk factors for preterm birth and consequently neonatal infections. Previous in-vitro experiments using human cells and in vivo animal models have portrayed the important roles of these virulence factors including hemolytic pigment (CylE), hyaluronidase (HylB), serine-rich protein (Srr) and bacterial surface adhesion of GBS (BsaB) in mediating GBS colonization and intrauterine ascending infection, leading to preterm delivery. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between mRNA expression of women and preterm delivery. GBS isolates were obtained from high vaginal swabs of pregnant women(n=40) with gestational age less than 37 weeks and symptoms including preterm labour, preterm premature rupture of membrane (pPROM), vaginal discharge and vaginal bleeding. Socio-demographic details, obstetric history and delivery outcomes of these women were also enquired. RNA was extracted from these GBS isolates and RT-qPCR was performed to determine the relative mRNA expression of GBS virulence genes including CylE,HylB, Srr and BsaB. Socio-demographic details and obstetric history were not found to be associated with the delivery outcomes of these women. Women with preterm labour and pPROM who delivered prematurely were demonstrated with higher expression of HylB and Cyl Egenes, in comparison to women with term delivery. The expression of Srr and BsaB genes were both similar between symptomatic pregnant women who had term and preterm delivery. Theseresultssuggestthatfollowingvaginalcolonization,bothCylEandHylBgenespossiblycontributetointrauterineascendinginfectionandinflammation,leading to preterm delivery in humans.Thus, hemolytic pigment and hyaluronidase may be targeted for exploratory and pre-clinical stages of vaccine development, which is a good alternative to intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis in order to prevent neonatal GBS infections

Molecular detection of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in urban rodents from wet markets in northeast Malaysia.

Objective: This short study describes the occurrence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in two major wet markets in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: 30 rodents (20 rats and 10 shrews) were caught in 2 wet markets, and a post-mortem was performed to extract both kidneys. Molecular diagnosis via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted to detect leptospiral DNA using universal and pathogenic Leptospira primers, respectively. Results: The results showed that 20/28 (72%) rat samples were detected positive for Leptospira spp, and all shrews were negative. Further sequencing analysis identified L. interrogans and L. borgpetersenii as the most frequently Leptospirosis species from kidney samples. Conclusions: The presented study here sheds light on the presence of pathogenic leptospires harbouring the rat population in both wet markets in Kelantan, which presents a great public health risk to wet market workers and visitor

Heritage Studies & Measured Drawings of Masjid Diraja Sultan Ala'eddin, Banting, Selangor

This work is one of the outcomes of AAR 3302 Heritage Studies, a core course that educates students to the understanding and practice of researching and documenting the heritage buildings in the Muslim world. The study on Masjid Diraja Sultan Ala'eddin, Banting Selangor was conducted in August 2020 and published in October 2020

Abstracts of the International Halal Science Conference 2023

This book presents the extended abstracts of the selected contributions to the International Halal Science Conference, held on 22-23 August 2023 by the International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART), IIUM, Malaysia in collaboration with Halalan Thayyiban Research Centre, University Islam Sultan Sharif (UNISSA), Brunei Darussalam. With the increasing global interest in halal products and services, this conference is timely. Conference Title:  International Halal Science ConferenceConference Acronym: IHASC23Conference Theme: Halal Industry Sustainability Through ScienceConference Date: 22-23 August 2023Conference Venue: International Islamic University (IIUM), MalaysiaConference Organizer: International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART), International Islamic University (IIUM), Malaysi