MODERN APPROACH OF ZAKAT AS AN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INSTRUMENT FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND STABILITY OF UMMAH

The modern approach to zakat institution is a significant economic and social instrument for the poverty alleviation and stability of the Muslim ummah. This paper highlights a wider scope of understanding the term "Poverty" and discusses how zakat institution can play an important role to alleviate the status of poverty in Muslim countries in the modern world. The main task of this paper is to use zakat institution to serve as a pool of resources for the economic and social development of the ummah beginning with those who most needy. In this regard, zakat funds can be utilized for the development of resources especially concentrate in the area of human capital development for the long-term rather than short-term relief for those in need and at the same time, prevent the zakat revenues from diversion to undesired directions (Vision of IDB 1440H). We should aim at using zakat fund as a means of providing assistance that will have a long lasting effect. Zakat institution should have long-term programme to teach the poor and needy know how to catch fish rather than every year we merely provide them with fish to eat

The Issues of Unclaimed Properties in Malaysia

Unclaimed property in Malaysia has become one of the more hotly debated issues. So far unclaimed property value estimated to reach billions of Ringgit. This is a big number, and, if issues stay no action has taken, it will affect not only the society but also economic and national development. If the efficient property management system had to be set up it will have undoubtedly a positive impact. Therefore, there is a need to take a drastic action to find a comprehensive solution and alternatives for solving this issue. Hence, an effective asset management and an efficient estate planning towards unclaimed property must be practiced to ensure a smooth operation of the property management. Generally, unclaimed property is divided into two main categories. Firstly, the inherited estate from a deceased that is not claimed by the heirs and another one is the property the owner of which cannot be traced or missing, known as al-Mafqud in Islamic law. In this paper, the researcher has focused on the occurrence of unclaimed property in the context of missing persons. The results of this study are based on data gathered through a grounded theory from few agencies such as the Malaysian Civil and Shariah Courts, Small Estate Distribution Unit in the District Land Office and Amanah Raya Berhad as well as the heirs of missing persons. The information of missing person's heirs collected from Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) and the information clarified as confidential.  In general, the result shows that, there are for factors contributed to the issues of unclaimed properties in Malaysia; legislation, social status, behavior and the strength and weaknesses of related agency should be given consideration.  This results are expected to be catalyst to further action by the government to solve the issue of unclaimed property in Malaysia and concurrently contribute to enhance the quality of property management based on highest and best use concept

THE IMPACT OF MACROECONOMIC VARIABLES ON ISLAMIC BANKS FINANCING IN MALAYSIA

The study investigates the impact of conventional bank interest rate on the volume of financing of Islamic banks in Malaysia for the period spanning 2006:12 to 2011:3. Omitted variable bias is provided for, by including several control variables such as production index, real effective exchange rate, price index and stock market index as additional explanatory variables. The relationship among the variables is examined with the ARDL approach to cointegration. Findings suggest the existence of one long run relationship among the variables. Furthermore, the study shows that interest rate significantly affects Islamic banks financing Malaysia. This is taken to mean that Islamic banks financing is complementary rather than substitute to conventional banks financing. Hence, it is recommended that Islamic banks in Malaysia should accommodate more profit and loss products in order to be more interest-free. Keywords: Islamic banks financing, ARDL, Granger causality test

A General Survey of Nitrate-Nitrogen Levels In Well-water under Different Landuses

A general survey on N03 - - N levels in well-water under different landuses was conducted. Four areas were selected to represent different landuses namely mixedfarming (crop and animal production), forest, urban, and crop production only. Water samples from a total of 22 wells in the selected areas were collected and analysedfor N03- - N. The field and statistical data showed that the differences in N03 - - N levels in well- waterfrom different landuses were significant except for agriculture + animal farming. The highest N03 - - N level was observed in agricultural areas followed by urban and forested areas

Occurrence of Blastocystis in Water of Two Rivers from Recreational Areas in Malaysia

This study reports the occurrence of Blastocystis in water from two rivers, Sungai Congkak and Sungai Batu, located in recreational areas in Malaysia. This protozoan was detected in samples from both rivers with an average of 33.3% and 22.1%, respectively. It was detected highest at the downstream (73.8% and 33.8%) followed by midstream (17.5% and 25.0%) and upstream (8.8% and 7.5%) stations, with additionally higher detection during holidays (with average 47.5% and 30.8%) than week days (with average 19.2% and 13.3%), in both rivers, respectively. There was a strong association with the daily activities of locals and visitors, who came for water recreational activities, mainly located between midstream and downstream and was observed to be higher at Sungai Congkak. The detection of Blastocystis in these rivers' water implies that this protozoan could potentially be transmitted to humans by the waterborne route. Pearson correlation analysis showed that their occurrence was significantly correlated with faecal coliforms count; inconsistent correlation with dissolved oxygen, temperature and turbidity and no correlation with pH, conductivity and rainfall for both rivers. The correlation of coliforms and Blastocystis suggests the source of the Blastocystis in the water body is likely to be faecal

Conceptual Framework for Adoption of Islamic Banking in Nigeria: The Role of Customer Involvement

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual design to study and investigate the factors influencing the adoption of Islamic banking products and services among customers in Nigeria. The research employs the innovation diffusion theory developed by Rogers (2003) to investigate the influence of the perceived attributes of innovation (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity and perceived risk) on customers’ usage of Islamic banking products and services in Nigeria. The study also intends to integrate customer involvement in the Rogers Model and investigate its influence on the usage of Islamic banking products and service. Besides that, the study also examines the moderating effect of customer involvement on the relationship between the perceived attributes - relative advantage, compatibility, complexity and perceived risk and the adoption of Islamic banking products and services. This is due to the fact that literatures on the Islamic banking usage have investigated the influence of the customer involvement. Islamic banking advocates profit and loss sharing in contrast to interest dealing practiced by conventional banking system which formed the major separation between the two banking systems. Another important demarcation between the Islamic and conventional system of banking has been the way and manner they relate with their customers. Whereas creditor-debtor relation is prevalent in the conventional banking, Islamic banking treats its customer in more than a creditor-debtor relationship but also as a partner in business and investment. This relation therefore made the customer involvement a potential factor and hence its influence on customers’ usage of Islamic banking products and services would be investigated. It is expected that the study will help to enhance our understanding on how customer involvement may influence the adoption of Islamic banking products and services among the customers in Nigeria. It is hopeful that upon validating the framework, findings from the study will provide useful insight and especially firsthand information on the role of customer involvement. This would be useful to the providers in gaining and retaining the existing customer, and to the policy makers, regulators and other relevant stakeholders to strategize in accordance with their respective roles towards development and sustainment of the industry. Keywords: Islamic banking Products, Perceived Attributes of Innovation, Customer Involvement, Adoption, Nigeri

Evaluation of sticky traps for adult Aedes mosquitoes in Malaysia : a potential monitoring and surveillance tool for the efficacy of control strategies

The present study compared the performance of sticky traps in order to identify the most effective and practical trap for capturing Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. Three phases were conducted in the study, with Phase 1 evaluating the five prototypes (Models A, B, C, D, and E) of sticky trap release-and-recapture using two groups of mosquito release numbers (five and 50) that were released in each replicate. Similarly, Phase 2 compared the performance between Model E and the classical ovitrap that had been modified (sticky ovitrap), using five and 50 mosquito release numbers. Further assessment of both traps was carried out in Phase 3, in which both traps were installed in nine sampling grids. Results from Phase 1 showed that Model E was the trap that recaptured higher numbers of mosquitoes when compared to Models A, B, C, and D. Further assessment between Model E and the modified sticky ovitrap (known as Model F) found that Model F outperformed Model E in both Phases 2 and 3. Thus, Model F was selected as the most effective and practical sticky trap, which could serve as an alternative tool for monitoring and controlling dengue vectors in Malaysia. Journal of Vector Ecology 42 (2): 298-307. 2017

Creation of a ground water quality index for an open municipal landfill area

Environmental indices are an example of index which are used to access the quantitative environmental matters in quantitative. The utilization rate of ground water as a source of clean water supply is still high especially in the areas which are lacking in clean water supply from the dams. Therefore, the ground water quality in these areas need to be monitor continuously to maintain the quality to be in safe level of consumption. Unfortunately, the suitable index to assess the ground water is yet to exist in Malaysia. This study was carried out to create a suitable ground water quality index to assess the ground water quality in a closed open municipal landfill site named Sabak, which is located near the village. The specific landfill site study is namely Sabak open landfill which located near Kampung Sabak, Kelantan, Malaysia and South China Sea. Six sampling stations had been considered in this study which focusing on 32 variables consists of heavy metal, inorganic non-metal, physical characteristic and aggregate indicator. The creation of index is based on two kinds of analyses: that are Principal Component Analysis and another analysis which I put as Benchmarking Analysis. The results showed that seven variables can be used as indicator variables. They were electric conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, nitrate, chemical oxygen demand and iron content. The scale used for the index is from 0 to 100 where the increment of the index referring to the improvement of the quality. Results of the application of this index at study site showed that the index value was 26.67 which means that the quality is low

Community surveillance of Aedes albopictus associated with Wolbachia detection in low-rise residential areas in Selangor, Malaysia

The study assessed the distribution of Malaysian Ae. albopictus adults associated with Wolbachia detection in low-rise residential areas using a modified sticky ovitrap (MSO). The relationship between Ae. albopictus and climatological parameters were also determined. Fifty-two weeks of surveillance using 273 MSOs were conducted in four installation areas of eleven sampling sites. Specimens were subjected to PCR using wsp-specific primers for Wolbachia detection. The relationship between climatological parameters and Ae. albopictus captured were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation coefficient test. The majority of Ae. albopictus were captured in residential houses (87%), followed by playgrounds or parks (11.5%), guardhouses (1%), and community halls (0.5%). Most of the specimens (92%) were superinfected with wAlbA and wAlbB strains. A positive correlation with no significant association was found for rainfall (r = 0.015, P = 0.072), relative humidity (r = 0.005, P = 0.526), minimum temperature (r = 0.005, P = 0.516), and mean temperature (r = 0.003, P = 0.689). MSO effectively captured a high number of Ae. albopictus that was determined to be the predominant mosquito species found in low-rise residential areas. The adult collection is not only influenced by climatological parameters but also by other factors, including environmental conditions and general sanitation status

A general survey of nitrate-nitrogen levels in wellwater under different landuses

ABSTRACT A general survey on NO3-N levels in well-water under different landuses was conducted. Four areas were selected to represent different landuses namely mixed farming (crop and animal production), forest, urban, and crop production only. Water samples from a total of 22 wells in the selected areas were collected and analysed for MV-iV. The field and statistical data showed that the differences in NOi -N levels in well-water from different landuses were significant except for agriculture + animal farming. The highest NO3 -N level was observed in agricultural areas followed by urban and forested areas