Discharge of contract and surrender under life insurance and family takaful: a comparative study

This is a doctrinal and comparative research between the traditional law and the syariah with regard to discharge of policies and surrender. The aim is to find similarities and dissimilarities between life insurance and family takaful vis-à-vis the issues. The issues are: Discharge of life policies/family takaful and this will cover discharge by Performance; Payment by Mistake; discharge by agreement, discharge by breach and cancellation. Moreover, the researcher explore surrender under life insurance and family takaful, which will deliberate on the concept and procedure for surrender. It has been found that both the traditional law and the syariah agree that a contract of life insurance and family takaful may be discharged by performance, by agreement, by breach, payment by mistake and cancellation. With regard to surrender, it has been found that both the Financial Services Act 2013 and the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 allow it. It has been submitted that surrender is not against the syariah, since the purpose is to ensure good for the participants provided it is done in accordance with fair dealing. Moreover, both the traditional law and the syariah share the same view in the procedure for the surrender as it is required to be in a writing form

UMAR IBN KHATTAB, AN EPITOME OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP: A SUSTAINABLE LESSON FOR CONTEMPORARY LEADERS

Servant Leadership is believed to have been a new theory coined and inserted into the field of leadership and management by an American Scholar, Robert Greenleaf in early 1970s. Since then, it has been one of the important types of leadership that attract the interest of the Scholars or Researchers. Therefore, the paper intends to portray an icon and epitome of such leadership stylefrom Islamic perspective, ‘Umar ibn Khattab (r.a), the second Caliph in Islam. It presents the historical background of the icon. It also discusses the definition and origin of the theory. The paper also enumerates evidences of emulation of the icon from authentic literature. Likewise, it portraysthe servant leadership characteristics as it can be seen in ‘Umar’s personality (r.a). In an attempt to dig into the root ofthe theory, the paper looks into the Chinese, Christianity and Western perspectives of the style. The study contains no numericalor statistical value in achieving its aims and objectives, that is to say, purely qualitative research methodology is employed. The study re-emphasizes that the theory is one of the theories or styles which have been enshrined in Islam since 14 century ago. It also depicts that ‘Umar ibn Khattab (r.a) was an important figure to be emulated in actualizing the theory. It is anticipated that sustainability of a good governance and management in any given community or organization will be achieved by putting the characteristics into practice. Furthermore, it is expected that many contemporary leadership dilemmas will be overcome, if the contemporary leaders follow the Caliph’s step

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030