This study examines how board of directors (BOD) and Shariah board (SB) characteristics influence risk-taking and performance in Malaysian Takaful operators (TOs). These operators face unique challenges when balancing financial growth with strict adherence to Shariah principles. The study analyse data from 15 TOs from 2012 to 2021, resulting in a total of 124 firm-years of observations using panel data regression techniques. The key findings are a higher proportion of women on BOD leads to less risk-taking, while larger SB with more PhD members encourage it. However, the impact on performance is mixed. More women on BOD might reduce returns on assets, while frequent BOD meetings and a highly qualified SB might lower return on equity. This research offers valuable insights, where investors should consider the risk-return trade-off when evaluating TOs based on BOD and SB composition while managers need to balance risk management with Shariah compliance by building diverse BOD and optimising SB structure. Industry regulators should promote sound governance practices and collaboration between BOD and SB. Overall, the study contributes to the corporate and Shariah governance literature, shedding light on the complex interplay between BOD composition, SB expertise, risk-taking and performance in a complex industry

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the fund flow - performance relationship for Islamic and conventional equity funds in Malaysia. Findings: Islamic fund investors respond to performance in much the same way as conventional fund investors, increasing fund flows to better performing funds and decreasing fund flows to poorer performing funds. However, there is also evidence that Islamic fund investors are relatively less responsive toward poorly performing Islamic funds, suggesting an asymmetry in the expected positive fund flow - performance relationship, but only for Islamic fund investors. When choosing funds based on other fund attributes, Islamic fund investors again exhibit similar behaviour, and like conventional fund investors direct larger percentage fund flows into smaller funds as well as funds with larger past fund flows and higher expense ratios. Practical implications: Islamic funds like conventional funds will experience increased fund flows with better performance and vice versa. However, Islamic fund investors appear somewhat less likely to remove monies from poorly performing funds. The authors believe this is because investors either place a premium on the non-return attributes of Shariah-compliant funds and/or wish to avoid search costs in finding another suitable Islamic fund. Apart from this, Islamic and conventional fund investors behave in a similar manner, and the authors believe that this is possible in Malaysia given the size and diversity of its Islamic fund sector.

The study objectively reports the findings on a questionnaire survey when examining the factors affecting Malaysian Private Entity Reporting Standard (MPERS) compliance in Malaysia by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study is based on a professional accountant questionnaire survey involving a sample of 176 respondents who are currently involved in the implementation of MPERS. The result reveals that the main factors affecting the SMEs' compliance with MPERS were the legal limitations and requirements. The study also finds that the perception, size of entities, management and accounting skills of the external user, and consideration of costs and benefits, have little impact on MPERS compliance. Furthermore, the study contributes to the literature of the financial reporting standard for SMEs by providing empirical from Malaysia's local context that uses MPERS and how the theses affect reporting practices. To adopt the 'true and fair view' financial reporting standard when explaining the firm's financial performance and financial position, this study should be the interest of regulatory authority, standard setters, and owners of SMEs themselves.

The study reviews the relationship between corporate governance (CG) and Shariah Governance (SG) and examine how the governance concepts are handled in Takaful operators in Malaysia. The main question is how different or similar the governance concept applied in Takaful companies and make comparison between the theory and practises. This research compares studies on corporate governance and shariah governance in Takaful operators using a literature study approach. This research aims to extend the understanding of the roles played by CG and SG in their disclosure and how they contribute to the sustainability of Takaful operators. The analytical findings show that the unique contribution of Shariah governance as an additional governance measure for the purpose of Shariah compliance for the Takaful operators in Malaysia.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the economic slowdown have negatively impacted various industries and will cause losses, defaults in debt obligations, and significantly increase the risk of insolvency. An excessive level of debt could lead to unsustainable growth, financial distress, and insolvency. Sustainable growth rate (SGR) may have a significant impact on corporate financial distress. Sustainable growth in a business context is the maximum limit for a company to increase its revenue without depleting its financial resources. Sustainable growth rate depends on the earnings retention rate (R) and the return on equity (SGR = R × ROE). The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors affecting the SGR by segregating the positive and negative profitability of Shariah-compliant companies in Malaysia. Using STATA software, we conducted a static estimation model to analyse data from 181 Shariah-compliant companies in Malaysia collected from 2007 to 2016. The research based on ROE analysis by segregating positive and negative ROE as the potential impact of COVID-19 in Malaysia. For companies of positive ROE, the decrease in the dividend payout and the company’s efficiency, and an increase in profitability will increase the sustainable growth rate. The company with negative ROE shows that the decrease in leverage and an increase in the company’s profitability and the company’s efficiency will result in the increased company’s sustainable growth rate. This research can be a guide for companies to the potential or experimental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic either for the company that gains profit or faces the financial losses. This paper also provides an understanding of the corporate sustainable growth rate facing negative and positive profitability in Malaysia.

As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) expands its impact from China, expanding its catchment into surrounding regions and other countries, increased national and international measures are being taken to contain the outbreak. Humans are increasingly confronted with numerous forms of man-made and natural emergency situations. Emergency situations cannot be prevented, but they can be better managed. Successful management of emergency situations requires proper planning, guided response and well-coordinated efforts throughout the life cycle of emergency management. Literature suggests that emergency management efforts benefit from a well-integrated data-based emergency management information system. the latest advancements in the field of molecular and computational techniques and information and communication technologies (ICTs), artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data can help in handling the huge, unprecedented amount of data derived from public health surveillance, real-time epidemic outbreaks monitoring, trend now-casting/forecasting, regular situation briefing and updating from governmental institutions and organisms, and health facility utilization information. This perspective paper, proposing networks should work towards enhancing standardization protocols for increased data sharing in the event of outbreaks or disasters, leading to better global understanding and management of the same. This study can be adapted to help organiztions facing with the new normal in their organization.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the determinants and stability of dividend payments in Malaysia from 2007 to 2016. The purposes of this research were (1) to analyse the stability of dividend per share, (2) to examine the determinants of dividend yield, and (3) to examine the effect of dividend per share on the sustainable growth rate of Shariah-compliant firms in Malaysia. Static model and dynamic model estimated using Generalised Method of Moment were used in this research. The results indicated that the stable earnings per share can afford the firms to pay a larger dividend. Futhermore, the higher dividend from the previous year with the lower speed adjustment indicated high smoothing and stability of dividend payment. The results on determinants of the dividend yield revealed the five factors that are lagged dividend yield, firm size, sales growth, leverage, and market value to book value have a significant impact on dividend yield, with lagged dividend yield and firm size showing a significant positive effect, while sales growth, leverage, and market value to book value have a significant negative impact. In addition, the results indicated that dividend per share had a significantly positive impact on the sustainable growth rate. The results of this study are important for the management team of companies to decide an appropriate dividend policy for the company to maintain a stable dividend payment and have the financial health of a company, These results also provided the understanding of dividend policy behaviour in Malaysia, particularly on Malaysian public-listed Shariah-compliant firms.

This study investigates two main objectives. Firstly, the determinants of capital structure were examined for each sector among Malaysian Shariah-compliant firms, and whether the inclusion of Islamic debt (leverage 1 and leverage 2) has led to different results due to changes in the screening methodology. Secondly, this paper analyzes the target Capital Structure and Speed of Adjustment for both before and after the Revised Screening Methodology. This study employs panel data analysis by using generalized method of moment (GMM). The sample consists of 192 Shariah-compliant companies in Malaysia during the period of 1999 to 2017. The results demonstrated that the firm has target capital structure and identified specific determinants that have affected the capital structure of Shariah-compliant firms in Malaysia. Moreover, the findings have also revealed certain implications toward large firms. Large firms tend to generate more income and profit, however at the same time, these firms require more debt to support investment activities. Hence, with regards to profitability, this study identified a negative relationship between profitability and leverage for Shariah-compliant firms for all sectors. Shariah-compliant firms with high profitability will use a lower leverage in their financial activities. Thus, the results strongly support the pecking order theory. Other than that, this study found that the lagged dependent variable (lagged leverage 1 and leverage 2) presented a positive significance, and concluded that the speed of adjustment takes approximately 2 years. This suggests that the Shariah-compliant firms close approximately by 30% to 70% of the gap between current and target capital structure within one and two years. Furthermore, the findings on the target leverage level imply that after the revised screening methodology was introduced in November 2013, the speed of adjustment became faster than before the implementation of the new screening methodology. Thus, it is important for management to maintain the target leverage during financial decision making, which in turn strengthens the firm’s Shariah-compliant financial stability and sustainability, and continue to remain listed as Shariah-compliant securities. This paper provides an overview of capital structure behaviour in Malaysia.

Islamic mutual funds (IMF) are growing as a substitutional investment vehicle for investors who want to combine value and financial objectives in their investment. A group of the funds is managed by one Investment Company called the family of funds, different families follow different strategies that distinguish them from each other. This study investigates the flow-performance relationship in IMF, in addition to the extent to which family and fund characteristics contribute to explaining fund flows in Malaysia for the period from 2009 to 2017. The study uses raw returns to calculate the fund performance and use the percentage money flow (FLOW), defined as money flow scaled by the total net asset of the fund. The study use panel regression models to estimate the relationship between fund flow and performance, fund, and family variables. The results show there are positive relationship between past performance and fund flow that mean IMF investors make rational financial decisions by directing fund flows to better performing funds. The results also indicate there are negative relationship between fund flows and fund risk may be due to IMF performing better during the bearish market since the risk is high. Finally, the results indicate there are negative relationship between fund flows and fund size, family size, number of funds in the family, this may be because when family or fund become larger and included more funds can’t preserve the same high growth rate.

Islamic banking should expand its scope beyond commercial banking and actively contribute to all levels of the community by offering products and services, utilizing effective distribution channels, and engaging in sustainable activities. Although Islamic banks are evaluated based on financial performance, there is a notable absence of a mechanism to assess their social impact on society. Presently, social themes related to Islamic banking are scattered across various sustainability agendassuch as SDG, ESG, SRI, and CSR. This paper aims to develop an integrative framework that addresses and reconciles the fragmented aspects of Islamic social banking in line with the principles of Maqasid Shariah. This study employeda qualitative method whichwas conducted in twophases. In the first phase, content analysis wasutilized to construct social themes under SDG, ESG, SRI, CSR, and Maqasid Shariah. In the subsequent phase,semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain input fortheframeworkdevelopment. The integrated framework incorporates five(5)dimensions of Maqasid Shariah with corresponding thirteen (13)themes to measure Islamic banking practices. This framework has the potential to serve as a significant contributor to the development of comprehensive performance indicators for the effective implementation of social banking within the Islamic banking sector. Moreover, it plays a pivotal role in realizing the objectives outlined in Malaysia's Shared Prosperity Vision 2030.

This paper aims to examine the impact of Board of Directors (BOD) and Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) characteristics on the performance of Malaysian and Indonesian Takaful Operators (TOs). We manually collected data on BOD characteristics (size, independence of directors and women's representation) and SSB characteristics (size, women's representation, and doctoral degrees) from the annual reports of 27 TOs in Malaysia and Indonesia from 2015 to 2022. This study uses panel data analysis as its empirical approach. Specifically, the study uses generalised least square (GLS) random-effect regression. The study highlights several interesting findings: (1) larger board size and the presence of female directors impact performance negatively; (2) board independence increases performance; (3) However, large SSBs tend to increase performance; and (4) Female scholars in the SSB negatively impact the performance of the TOs.

Islamic mutual funds (IMF) are growing as a substitutional investment vehicle for investors who want to combine value and financial objectives in their investment. A group of the funds is managed by one Investment Company called the family of funds. This study investigates the flow-performance relationship in IMF, in addition to the extent to which family and fund characteristics contribute to explaining fund flows in Saudi Arabia for the period from 2007 to 2017. The study uses raw returns to calculate the fund performance and use the percentage money flow (FLOW), defined as money flow scaled by the total net asset of the fund. The results show there is a positive relationship between past performance and fund flow that mean IMF investors make rational financial decisions by directing fund flows to better performing funds. In addition, the results show family characteristics have an impact on IMF inflow.

This study investigates the relationship between the Shariah Governance and he financial performance of Takaful operators in Malaysia. There are a lot of researches focused on determinants factors that affecting the financial performance of banks rather than insurance companies especially in Malaysia. Thus, this study is very important and beneficial to regulators, investors and customers. By understanding determinants contributing to the financial performance, the regulators could play a vital role in helping Takaful operators to increase their market share. Hence, the objective of the paper is to investigate the relationship between shariah governance and financial performance of Takaful operators in Malaysia. Data were gathered using secondary data collection method from annual report for each of Takaful operators and Bank Negara Malaysia from year 2018 until 2022. The data consist of profitability, Shariah Committee, Shariah Risk Management and Shariah Review for 5 registered Takaful operators in Malaysia namely; Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad, Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd, Prudential BSN Malaysia Berhad, Sun Life Malaysia Takaful Berhad (CIMB Aviva Takaful Berhad) and Hong Leong MSIG Takaful Berhad. Data were analysed using multiple regression analysis. From the analysis, Shariah Committee was found significantly positive effect towards financial performance. In contrast, Shariah Risk Management and Shariah Review were found significantly negative effect related to the financial performance. Thus, this study is very important and beneficial to regulators, investors and customers. As recommendation, Takaful operators should improve their effectiveness of the Shariah Governance through expanding the size of Shariah Committee, hiring more experts in Islamic and risk management in designing effective policy for the Takaful operators. Regulators could use this study to formulate of suitable and useful ways to efficiently supervise the operations of Takaful insurance

Zakat is one of the sources of funds available within the Islamic economic and financial systems and has become a part of ijtima’i studies. Although it is obligatory for Muslims to contribute to zakat, however the amount collected is relatively very small compared to the income tax collections. One of the reasons that led to this incident could be the lack of motivation among Muslims. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors affecting individual decisions in zakat contribution hence, provide an understanding of their motivation. In this exploratory study, factor analysis has been used to provide insights into the underlying structure of motivating factors of individuals participating in zakat. Data was collected using a survey questionnaire that was designed based on past studies from both the conventional as well as Islamic literature. The main dimensions were characterised by religious, utilitarian, self satisfaction and organization factors. In the analysis, the factor extraction method used was the principal component method with the Varimax rotation. Principal factor analyses identified five factors that explained 67.32 percent of the variance in the dataset and these were the “altruism”, “level of faith”, “self-satisfaction”, “organization”, and “utilitarian” factors. Further analysis indicates that the “altruism” has the highest score followed by faith (iman), self satisfaction, organization, and utilitarian factors. Based on the sample surveyed, the initial findings indicate that participation in zakat is not only motivated by religious factor but also self-satisfaction and organizational factors. The implication is that the efforts to raise the level of zakat activities should emphasise not only the religious aspect but also the individual’s and organizational dimensions. This may have significant impacts on the personal financial planning and development of Islamic economic systems in general.

The soaring housing prices in Malaysia is not a recent issue. It is a global phenomenon especially in developing and developed countries, driven by factors including land price, location, construction materials cost, demand, and speculation. This issue demands immediate attention as it affects the younger generation, most of whom could not afford to buy their own house. The government has taken many initiatives and introduced regulations to ensure that housing prices are within the affordable range. This article aims to introduce a housing price control element from the Shariah perspective, as an alternative solution for all parties involved in this issue. It adopts content analysis methodology on policy from Shariah approved sources.

Islamic mutual funds (IMFs) have been growing as an alternative investment vehicle for investors who want to combine value and financial objectives in their investment. A group of funds is managed by an investment company called a family of funds, and different fund families follow different strategies that distinguish them from each other. In addition to this, characteristics of fund families influence the performance of fund families. This study investigates the extent to which fund families and fund characteristics contribute to explaining fund returns differentiated by managers’ stock selection and market timing abilities in Malaysia for the period 2009 to 2016. In the first step, the study used Jensen’s (1968) model to calculate the fund performance, and the Henriksson and Merton model (1981) and Treynor and Mazuy (1966) to separate the performance into a market timing and fund selection. In the second step, using the coefficient estimates of fund selection and timing measures as dependent variables, the study tested the extent to which fund family and fund characteristics are associated with selectivity and timing performance measures. The results show the managers of IMFs have poor selectivity skills and good market timing ability. The results also show that fund family characteristics have a significant impact on the performance of Islamic funds' in Malaysia whether using the Treynor and Mazuy (T&M) or the Henrikson and Merton (H&M) model.

Stock market liquidity suffers from low volume trading in Malaysia. There is a high concern previously toward boosting the stock market liquidity through sukuk liquidity. This study aims to investigate the impact of sukuk liquidity on stock market liquidity. Investigating the impact of sukuk liquidity on stock market liquidity received less attention, this is due to the lack of measurement that commensurate to the low frequency of sukuk trading within the secondary market. This study employed two measurements of asset liquidity by using ordinary least square technique. The Amihud sukuk liquidity and latent sukuk liquidity were used to be tested against the stock market liquidity. The data used for this study span from 2008 to 2016 from the Malaysian secondary market based on monthly basis. The result of this study found a significant difference between the both liquidity measurements of sukuk that Amihud sukuk liquidity and latent sukuk liquidity. Also, there is a significant and positive impact of both sukuk liquidity measurements on the stock market liquidity. The result of this study provides a novelty finding within the stock market liquidity. It recommended by this study that the improvement of sukuk liquidity reflects a potential improvement on the stock market liquidity.

Fair value (FV) is claimed to be superior to other forms of measurement mainly because the former is easily understood by investors and stakeholders. However, the challenges faced in deploying International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 13 FV Measurement could result in inconsistent application and unexpected costs related to the requirements of the standard. As such, this study explored the issues and challenges of implementing IFRS 13 FV Measurement faced by financial instruments, particularly within the context of Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs). Upon adopting the qualitative approach, in-depth interview sessions were held with several academicians, accountants, auditors, and professional body representatives. The study outcomes revealed that issues in implementation of FV measurement were related to the relevance of measurement and hierarchy of level of FV measurement. Notably, issues pertaining to FV measurement were highlighted from the Shariah perspective. Valuable insights on the issues revolving around IFRS 13 implementation, particularly on financial instruments in Malaysia, are presented in this study.

This paper aims to examine the publication metrics of literature related to the influential aspects of ESG (environmental, social, and governance), SRI (socially responsible investing), ethical, and impact investing on the portfolio and financial performance literature. It also seeks to identify major patterns and core themes in this topic and draw lessons from the past literature for future directions. Data from the SCOPUS database were used in this study. The ‘biblioshiny’ R package, also known as ‘bibliometrix 3.0’, was employed to conduct bibliometric analysis, utilising mapping and clustering techniques on 260 articles, in order to distil the comprehensive knowledge and identify emerging trends in ESG, SRI, ethical, and impact investing. The thematic map classified the ESG, SRI, ethical, impact investing and performance relationship themes into four categories of themes: niche themes (SRI, engagement and ESG), motor themes (corporate financial performance, corporate social performance, ESG, ESG factors, sustainability, performance, integrated reporting, gender diversity, and board size), emerging or declining themes (social responsibility, environmental performance, socially responsible investment, ethical investment, and SRI), and basic or transversal themes (financial performance, corporate social performance, ESG performance, environmental, social, and governance). Socially responsible investing, engagement, and ESG imply a position between niche themes and a highly developed topic/emerging or a decreasing theme, while the impact of COVID-19 on sustainability and financial performance implies a position between a highly developed topic/emerging or decreasing theme and a basic theme. The findings contribute to the enhanced understanding of ESG, SRI, ethical, impact investing and performance, which are crucial for an efficient capital market in promoting sustainability and sustainable development. The study offers vital practical implications and future research directions.