The study aimed to review the challenges and opportunities of mass productivity scale (MPS) for the dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) farm in Malaysia. The review on site and document was done to drill the issues faced by dates palm farmers. The common issues affecting dates farm in Malaysia were pest attack, import permit, lack of expertise, and climate and soil requirements. In a united response, the government should form the National Dates Palm Centre (NDPC) which will explore opportunities to address issues faced by the dates palm sector in Malaysia.

The foremost impact of healthcare system is for the individuals to have the right and privileges to access enhanced healthcare services. The demand for health, innovation and sustainable healthcare systems has also been gaining better prominence and consideration in numerous countries, and it is perceived as one of the major contributors to the economic growth and development. This paper looks at the dynamic drivers of healthcare expenditure in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries from 1990 to 2015. The dynamic panel system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique was used for the study analysis. The findings show that the income, life expectancy, share of population between the age group of 65 years and above, share of population age under 15 years, out-of-pocket payment, research and development (technology) in healthcare and consumer price index were the drivers of healthcare expenditure in OIC countries. In view of this, the study differs from recent and previous studies, because the study offers novel empirical findings as the income per capita is above one, which is about 1.90 and inelastic. This proves that healthcare in OIC countries is a luxury goods.

Cash waqfis an Islamic tool in the Islamic Economic System. Cash waqf inculcates the culture of giving through Islamic philanthropy. Cash waqf must be used as a socio-economic development mechanism to create and develop a third sector that is not profit-motivated and distinct from private and public sectors. Awareness of cash waqf contributionand the obligation to donate are crucial among Malaysians. Waqf institutions have seriously promoted waqf financing instruments to enhance awareness and participation in society. However, awareness toward cash waqf in Malaysia lags behind that in Indonesia and Middle Eastern countries. This study examines the internal determinants of donors’ (waqif) intention to participate in giving cash waqf among Muslims in Malaysia. This study is conducted using a quantitative approach based on constructed questionnaires to identify patterns of factors that influence cash waqf contribution. Structural equation modelling technique is applied in the analysis. Findings show several internal factors, such as religious obligation, benevolence, familiarity with waqf institutions, and access to cash waqf, that have strong relationship with donors’ intention to repeat contribution of cash waqf in the future. Waqf institutions should encourage people to donate cash waqf in Malaysia. However, most of the respondents do not trust waqf institution. Trust is a significant internal factor in the intention to repeat contribution of cash waqf. Thus, waqf institutions should build good reputation and integrity to attract big contributors among Muslims in Malaysia and increase the level of intention among donors (waqif). Waqf institutions should consider these factors in planning their strategies to ensure adequate waqf funds that could accommodate further development for the benefit of th eummah. Keywords: internal factors, cash waqf, Islamic social finance, repeat cash waqf contribution, structural equation modelling (SEM)

Labuan was declared as an International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC) IN 1990, with a goal of developing an international Malaysian Capital market. Malaysian government has spared nothing in building up-to-date infrastructures in Labuan to portray the image of world class IOFC. Its objective is to be a financial ‘supermarket ‘offering a wide range of offshore financial products, which specializes in Islamic financial instruments.

This paper evaluates and analyses contents on several selected journals on Islamic economics and finance in Malaysia between 1977-3003. A brief introduction on the purpose, importance and structure of the journals are highlighted followed by its history, within the first part of the article. This paper also covers the background of the journals, the methodology and the reviews the relevant articles. Apart from that descriptive statistics concerning the classification of field of study of study each journal and subtopics of articles reviewed were also presented. A brief contents analysis of Islamic economics system, Islamic finance and banking, Islamic economic development and Islamic management articles were discussed to examine its prospect for research in the future. This review found that the scope and areas of interest, as indicated by the publications are narrow and few. This paper concludes with a discussion on the needs to proliferate the research and publication in the areas of Islamic banking and finance, Islamic economics and Islamic management.

The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of BMT on poverty alleviation in Bandung, as the capital city of West Java with the biggest population province in Indonesia. This study is incorporates income variables of micro-entrepreneur’s household, as well as the spiritual level indicator of micro-entrepreneur before and after they received financing from BMT. This is an impact assessment research. Any necessary information for this study will be extracted using empirical method. The primary data obtained through in-depth questionnaires in Bandung, Indonesia. The first object of impact assessment on this study is a group of micro-entrepreneurs that already using financing program from BMT one year or more, and second object is a group of micro-entrepreneurs that less than one year using BMT financing.To measure the impact of the BMT before and after financing on spiritual levels, this research using the pair-t test. The results of this study can be concluded that the number of poor micro-entrepreneurs in Bandung has been decreasing since they received BMT financing and BMT has influencing poverty alleviation among micro-entrepreneurs.