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This paper examines Malaysia's perception of China following the Asian Financial Crisis. The Asian Financial Crisis, which occurred in 1997, resulted in a contraction in Malaysia's GDP, which resulted in increased unemployment in Malaysia. China is a rising economy. Several bilateral visits and trade missions meet both states to achieve an advantageous economic position. Malaysia's decision to rely on China despite historical events that had sparked tensions between the two countries. Despite Malaysia's economic downturn, the country is taking swift action to address the issue. During the crisis, Malaysia viewed Western countries as irresponsible and allowed the situation to deteriorate, which later became the reason for Malaysia's relationship with China. The crisis, however, has influenced Malaysian Chinese businesses to improve their foreign policy and bilateral relations. This paper contends that Malaysia recognizes the importance of its bilateral relationship with China in stabilizing its economic development and social activity following the crisis.

Malaysia is one of the fastest-growing Asian economies with a properly designed and developed Islamic financial system. This unique feature of the Malaysian economy made it an important case study, and the purpose of this study is to assess for the dynamic contribution of Islamic finance to the growth of the real economy.

The study uses a quarterly data set of 20 years analysed via the autoregressive distributive lag bounds test approach to cointegration.

The results in the short-run show a non-significant relationship between Islamic banking indices and the real economy. However, in the long-run, financing and deposits of Islamic banks are favourable and contribute significantly to the growth of the Malaysian economy. There was an accumulation of meaningful and wide-ranging investment over the period of the study and productivity of capital was also extra-efficient. The direction of causality is found to be bidirectional between Islamic banking deposits and Malaysian gross domestic product (GDP), but there is a weak causal effect from Islamic banking financing to GDP.

Malaysia has a dual financial system (conventional and Islamic) and both can affect its real economy. This research is limited to Islamic banking’s effects on Malaysian economic growth. The research also limits the scope and coverage for 20 years, from 1998 to 2017 to cover the years for which data is available for all the variables used in the study.

The results confirm that the Islamic banking sector in Malaysia is performing well in carrying out its major function of financial intermediation, which is the pooling and channelling of funds to productive investment activities. Consequently, the fact that Malaysia excels in Islamic finance is not a fluke. It is because of the effective performance of Islamic financial institutions in the country. Furthermore, Malaysian authorities are doing their level best in promoting Islamic financial activities.

The study fulfills the need to uncover the relationship between the Islamic financial system and the real economy in Malaysia. It differs from other studies as it uses the most recent available data, introduces new variables and identifies the channel by which Islamic banking development transmits growth.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the return and dividend characteristics of two different types of Malaysian real estate investment trust (REIT) series, namely, conventional and Islamic, against macroeconomic variables over the period 2011-2017.

The required data are derived from Datastream database. Multiple regression analysis is used to determine the impact of macroeconomic variables on financial performance of 13 Malaysian REIT series.

Results show that the macroeconomic variables are able to predict future returns and dividends of Malaysian REITs. The analysis also suggests that Islamic REITs are seen to be less sensitive to macroeconomic variables and display better portfolio diversification benefits as compared to their conventional counterpart. The ongoing implications for large-cap and small-cap REITs are also highlighted.

The main limitation of the study is the small percentage of Islamic REITs sample due to limited period of observation available. However, the two Islamic REITs included are representative of Islamic REITs in Malaysia as both of them are listed in the Bursa Malaysia with asset size and market capitalization values more than RM1bn.

The results of this study may serve as a useful input for financial market players on making strategic business decisions especially with regards to differences between conventional and Islamic REITs characteristics.

The main contribution of this paper is to explore the relationship between REITs and macroeconomic factors on a unique capital market (Malaysia) that allows comparison between conventional and its Islamic counterpart.

The aim of the paper is to analyse the prevalence of corruption in Malaysia since 2004 in relation to political leadership, implementation of anti-corruption measures and the political and business culture based on money politics.

The paper draws from the information and data provided by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Malaysian government, international organisations, media reports, and academic papers.

The paper analyses the perceived extent of corruption in Malaysia by examining how successive governments have dealt with the problem through a wide range of measures. Corruption remains widespread because of ineffective implementation, a culture of money politics based on mutually beneficial crony associations between political actors and business leaders, political interference to frustrate enforcement against corruption offenders, especially prominent personalities, and the mixed impact of corruption prevention measures. The paper concludes that the political and business culture and the nature of political leadership have eroded the political will to combat grand corruption in Malaysia.

This paper builds on previous research on corruption in Malaysia and highlights the combined negative impact of political leadership and a business and political culture that tolerates and espouses corruption, especially through money politics, and the consequent weak political will for tackling grand corruption.

This paper aims to explore the opinions and recommendations of various experts on the integrated cash waqf micro enterprise investment (ICWME-I) model, particularly in terms of its suitability, applicability and prospects in the market.

The research involves primary data which are collected from semi-structured interviews conducted with experts from various backgrounds. Thematic analysis was used to examine the data.

The experts support the suitability of the ICWME-I model in providing financial services to micro enterprises. They highlight the importance of establishing, managing and operating ICWME-I model under the aegis of the State Islamic Religious Council in Malaysia or the corporate sector. They further emphasize that the characteristics of micro enterprises, the element of sustainable funding, the importance of proper management and administration, legal matters and public awareness are key factors that influence the sustainability of the ICWME-I model.

This paper adds to the literature on waqf and micro enterprises especially from the Malaysian context. The paper validates the ICWME-I model in terms of its suitability, applicability and prospects in the market by interviewing experts from various backgrounds.

This study aims to validate a potential synergistic venture between cash waqf (Islamic endowment) institutions (CWIs) and financial cooperatives (FCs) in the provision of affordable Islamic home financing (IHF) in Malaysia.

The study adopted semi-structured interviews with ten experts to validate the cash waqf-financial-cooperative-mushārakah mutanāqiṣah (CWFCMM) model. Thematic analysis technique was used to analyse the verbatim texts.

The findings show that the majority of the informants have positive perceptions of the potential of the CWFCMM model to provide financially affordable IHF products in Malaysia. Nevertheless, this study sheds light on the varying degrees of latent issues and challenges that might arise in the implementation of this model. For example, FCs need to practice the correct business model, implement good governance structures and employ the right people. Meanwhile, CWIs need to work on their accountability issues by publishing their audited accounts in mainstream newspapers, much like what is being done by non-governmental organisations such as the widely recognised Malaysian Medical Relief Society (MERCY Malaysia).

This study interviewed a small, industry-specific number of informants in generating its findings. Time and budget constraints are some of the limiting factors in carrying out the study. Because of these factors, the generalisation of the study’s findings will be limited.

First, the CWFCMM model offers an alternative, financially affordable IHF instrument to low- and middle-income households in Malaysia. Second, the involvement of third-sector institutions such as FCs and CWIs in the provision of IHF will reduce the burden of the government in its spending on home financing solutions for civil servants. Third, this model will harness the potential of waqf-based financing beyond the contemporary limited applications to mosques, graveyards and taḥfīẓ (Qurʾan memorization) schools.

This study presents an alternative IHF model that transcends the current institutional framework that is heavily dominated by Islamic commercial banks and government-owned home financing institutions. The study does not focus on a single third-sector institution but on an integration of at least two of them, CWIs and FCs, in implementing the IHF model.

This paper aims to investigate the economic impacts of the current coronavirus disease, which is globally known as (COVID-19) pandemic, on small businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry, including food and beverages (F&B) industries in Malaysia during and after the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) and conditional (CMCO) with the emergence of new business models.

In this paper, the implemented methodology involved a secondary qualitative research design based mainly on the existing literature, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports, the government’s documents, in addition to online sources and observations regarding local business experiences.

The findings revealed that implementing effective strategies of recovery, shaping resilience solutions and supporting policies such as the National Recovery Plan, which is backed by the government played a pivotal role in avoiding the turndown of small businesses.

This critical review is submitted as an original research paper, which aims to provide important perspectives regarding the COVID-19 pandemic impacts on the tourism and hospitality industry in Malaysia. This paper serves as a scholarly platform for further in-depth studies on various resilience solutions of small businesses.

This study on corporate demand for general takāful (Islamic insurance) aims to identify potential growth areas and areas for improvement in takāful business practices in Malaysia.

A survey on corporates’ protection needs, takāful/insurance coverage obtained and awareness on takāful/insurance was conducted for this paper.

The findings from the survey are as follows: There is potential for takāful operators to further penetrate the corporate sector, as the majority of respondents indicated willingness to spend on takāful/insurance. Emphasis on takāful value propositions apart from its Sharīʿah compliance status is needed to attract corporates, as respondents were found to be indifferent on Sharīʿah compliance status of their protection. Strong market presence, expanded product offerings and efficient services were key determinants to attract takāful subscription. Respondents’ heavy reliance on intermediaries warrants strong collaboration with intermediaries to widen market outreach. The small and medium enterprises segment appeared promising, as it is found to be underserved despite having higher propensity to obtain takāful/insurance coverage compared to the overall respondents.

This study is limited to Malaysia’s experience. The findings are indicative (though they may not be conclusive) of the target segment as well as the takāful industry as a whole.

The insights on respondents’ considerations when obtaining takāful/insurance coverage and the correlation of these factors with respondents’ characteristics can assist takāful/insurance providers in structuring products and business strategies to better serve this market segment. The paper may also aid discussions among researchers and regulators on areas for further development of the industry.