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Despite the critical issues involving Middle East countries such as war and a drop in currency exchange rates, a large number of students leave their country to pursue a higher education abroad, every year. The purpose of this paper is to understand the difficulties that these students face while conducting their research in a foreign country and in doing so hopes to enhance a greater awareness of the kind of hindrances they face to complete their studies.

The respondents of this qualitative study are PhD students from the Middle East who were studying in a public university in Southeast Asia. This university has recorded an increasing enrollment of international students, particularly from the Middle East in the last few years. Data were collected using a series of unstructured interviews that elicited information on critical incidents that characterized the kind of difficulties students had to face in their research. The data obtained was further analyzed using a qualitative software package – NVivo (QSR International, 10).

Six main themes emerged from the content analysis of the interviews, which are the role of the supervisor, student characteristics, family commitments, financial problems, psychological and research barriers which provide a holistic picture of student perspectives on the factors that affect research progress. While these students might have faced difficulties that might have been cited in existing literature, this paper argues that the respondents have indicated experiencing psychological barriers that were not described in earlier studies, such as the state of mind they were in as a result of being worried for family members due to war or violence in their home countries, drop in currency exchange rates and difficulties in acquiring money due to international sanctions imposed against their countries.

This study provides important insights on the factors that affect the progress of PhD students from the Middle East, while at the same time revealing a serious gap in supervisors’ role which can contribute to the delay in the research progress of PhD students.

The purpose of this paper is to come-up with a systematic exertion on Maqasid Shari’ah in Islamic economics, banking and finance, with a clear focus on forming an appropriate and novel framework that identifies the effort of contemporary scholars and detects the existing gap that might possibly champion new research commitments.

A systematic approach to literature review was steered through the means propagated by the Centre for Reviews and Disseminations (DSR), but modified to the precise requirements of this review. Google Scholar was searched throughout the passage. The search criteria are confined to English documents that are within the period of 2006-2016. Articles that did not score or did not convince that the subject of Maqasid Shari’ah has been applied in Islamic economy, Islamic banking, Islamic finance, Islamic financing products and economic development are excluded. Appropriate search keys are used to gather better results.

The findings inform that contemporary scholars show a robust commitment to the themes of the result during the stated period. The outcome reveals that contemporary scholars designate more interest and attention on Islamic banking and expose their potential specialty in the expanse than other themes. The study further highlighted the gap of some significant areas that are either outside the coverage of the reviewed documents or require more attention from contemporary scholars, for instance, wealth formation and management, wealth consumption, socioeconomic security, risk management, corporate governance, management policy, human resource development, prohibition of Riba, profit and loss sharing (PLS), etc.

The paper is limited to contemporary aspects of Islamic economics, banking, finance and economic development that have a link with the subject of Maqasid Shari’ah.

A review of these scholarly reported documents has the potential to draw attention toward filling the existing gap that will likely result in salvation of current issues on the subject of Maqasid Shari’ah that has a direct association with Islamic economy, banking and finance.

The paper is original in its nature considering the fact that it is assumed as the maiden attempt of its kind in the field. It is a treasure to all those who may cherish and find it relevant in their progressive and rounded convention or application on the matter.

It hardly seems possible that I have now been in the secretarial chair for six weeks. I am still busy learning the ropes, but hopefully my response time to your enquiries is improving. We continue to have a steady stream of visitors to our office at 3 Station Parade, which I may say we much enjoy. We also get a large number of letters from overseas on a wide variety of subjects. These again we enjoy, particularly as it helps to widen our horizon from the rather narrow outlook of the office and get us out into the world beyond.

The paper aims to investigate the level of student satisfaction with campus student housing facilities (SHF) at Malaysian research universities (RUs) and the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty behaviour.

The student residential satisfaction (SRS) framework has been proposed to investigate residential satisfaction from the students' viewpoint. Questionnaires were distributed to respondents in three RUs. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics.

In general, students are satisfied with the provided SHF with the SRS index of 2.96 or 74 per cent satisfaction level and there is a significant relationship between overall satisfaction and loyalty behaviour. The results also confirmed that the proposed model is an adequate instrument to measure SRS.

The existence of quality SHF is likely to act as an effective medium to attract local and international students to enrol in Malaysian universities. Further actions should be geared towards achieving a higher score of SRS index.

This paper introduces a practical model of SRS to be applied to universities in other countries with similar climate and culture.

Malaysia has shifted from a labor-intensive, agriculture-based economy since its independence in 1957 to a knowledge and innovation-based economy. Human capital development (HCD) is a key enabler for driving and sustaining Malaysia's socioeconomic growth. The education and training system is the main platform for HCD intervention. To sustain and achieve goals, long-term survival, competitive advantage, and sustainability, the workforce is optimized through comprehensive HCD interventions to provide the necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to work effectively in a rapidly changing and complex environment. Numerous efforts have been made by the government to ensure that the education and training system has the capacity to enhance the quality and availability of intellectual and skilled human capital to support the transition toward knowledge-intensive activities, sustain economic growth, and compete in the global market. The country's development plans and policies as well as the economic development which lead toward a knowledge-based economy with a knowledge-based workforce have charted out clear transformation journeys for the development of the human capital ecosystem. This chapter presents an overview of the landscape of HCD in Malaysia. Relevant reports, plans, policies, and strategies to strengthen human capital through education and training is reviewed. Finally, a few issues and challenges that Malaysia experiences are discussed.

In Malaysia, a vertical residential building (VRB) is still facing challenges associated with property management. The lack of experience in property management resulted in the management, acting unprofessionally that cause a lot of problems to the homeowners and their properties. The findings demonstrated that maintenance of the facilities and common areas in a VRB is essential to ensure its optimal performance over its life cycle. This has to be carried out efficiently and professionally by the qualified property manager. Unfortunately, not every property manager can perform all the tasks efficiently and professionally. Thus, this leads to an increasing number of complaints by unsatisfied homeowners’ particularly on the maintenance and management of the buildings and facilities. To satisfy the homeowners, the issue of transparency is one of the area concerns that need to be emphasised in the property management system practiced in Malaysia. This case study area of Klang Valley poses as one of the urban areas that has the highest number of vertical buildings, especially the medium cost of VRB. The purpose of this study is to explore the satisfaction level of homeowners towards the management system, maintenance services and facilities provided by the management of the medium cost VRB in the Klang Valley.

The study adopted a quantitative approach. The survey method was used as an appropriate method for inquiry of the data. Face to face survey was conducted with respondents at a medium-cost residential building in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

The findings demonstrated that homeowners living in medium-cost VRB in Klang Valley are satisfied and faced issues with the management system, maintenance service and services provided by the management of the medium-cost VRB. The only issue confronted by the homeowners with the medium-cost VRB is the commitment of the management towards their involvement in organising the activities, problem-solving and taking action on residents’ reports or complaints.

The findings suggest that appointing qualified property managers who understand property management has increased the performance of the management team. Most importantly, qualified property managers are equipped with knowledge in managing people, especially to create awareness on a sense of responsibility and belonging.

This study has bridged the research gap on property management of the medium-cost of VRB in Malaysia. This will add value to the management of the medium cost of VRB.

Muslims in Nigeria, like in many Muslim-majority countries, are striving to have a functional Zakat system in search of solutions to the perennial problem of poverty and its damning consequences. Nevertheless, there are still unsettled concerns arising from the current and widespread implementation of dissimilar (diverse) approaches to the Zakat system in various parts of the country. The purpose of this paper is to review comprehensively what are the hindrances of a vibrant Zakat system and how far the identified impediments may affect the system in the Nigerian context.

The methodology adopted is the review of extant relevant literature in the field of scholarly publications.

The findings of this study revealed that the fragmented implementation of the Zakat system within the context of the Nigerian democratic system of government lead to the weak governance with respect to law, administration and management; lack of a generally accepted fatwa from the Muslims scholars (Ulamas); absence of Zakat accounting standard; and low compliance behavior are the major barriers that require the attention of government and other stakeholders such as the traditional leaders, the accounting regulatory bodies, the Ulamas, as well as the economic and accounting researchers.

It was recommended that the stakeholders should make concerted efforts toward ensuring success of the Zakat system for attaining salvation in the hereafter and for social security, as well as economic prosperity.

The paper is the first paper that comprehensively reviews previous literature in the Zakat environment on factors that become barriers to implement a comprehensive Zakat system in Nigeria.

This study aims to investigate the impact of housing knowledge, housing challenges and housing policy on the renting intention and satisfaction of young people.

A questionnaire survey helped collect data from young people in the study area, which were then analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 27 software. A descriptive analysis and the Cronbach’s alpha test were adopted to analyse the data. The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a significant relationship between housing knowledge, housing challenges and housing policy and renting intention and satisfaction.

The overall findings revealed that most young people intend to own a home one day, and a minority of them decided to continue renting. The findings suggest that there is a significant relationship between housing knowledge and housing intention. However, housing challenges and housing policies do not appear to impact renting intentions. On the other hand, housing knowledge and housing challenges were found to be associated with housing satisfaction, while housing policy does not show a significant relationship.

This study, however, poses limitations as it uses a limited model and location and involves only a cross-sectional study. Future studies can use the methodology used in this study to conduct further investigations on housing intention and satisfaction in other regions of the country, thereby validating the findings of this study.

In terms of practical implications, this study has made a valuable contribution to the field of housing literature by shedding light on two crucial elements, namely, housing intention and satisfaction, which have been understudied. Understanding the determinants of housing intention and satisfaction is vital in efforts to implement appropriate policy reforms.

Findings from this study offer valuable insight related to managerial and practical implications, with the former implicating a need to prioritise initiatives that enhance renters’ housing knowledge. Implementing educational programmes and providing accessible resources can empower renters with a better understanding of the rental process and other important housing information.

This paper is relevant because it provides a guideline for policymakers to initiate regulations concerning housing and implement appropriate policy reforms. This study can also help housing providers develop more affordable housing that meets the needs of young people currently renting because most have expressed their housing intentions. Understanding housing intention and satisfaction determinants is vital to implementing appropriate policy reforms.

Property management companies in residential properties are increasingly using ICT and specific property management software applications to conduct daily property management tasks. However, the benefits of using specific software applications and how it can add value to property management companies are largely unexplored. The present study examines the impact of property management mobile applications usage features on strata property residents' satisfaction in Kuala Lumpur.

A total of 205 residents from 3 strata residential buildings in Kuala Lumpur using property management applications were surveyed. The study employed structural equation modelling using SPSS Amos software.

The findings suggest that visitor management and security management via software applications positively influence the residents' satisfaction. However, facility management via software application was found to be negatively affecting residents' satisfaction.

The study highlighted the benefit of property managers adopting property management software to achieve increased residents' satisfaction in strata residential properties.

This paper aims to fill the noticeably fragmented zakat literature repertoire by empirically exploring stakeholders’ views toward zakat management performance issues based on a selected zakat institution (ZI) operating on a corporatized platform with corporate administrative style.

A quantitative approach using a questionnaire survey distributed to Muslims in the State which ZI is operating was adopted. A total of 448 usable responses are used in the analysis covering descriptive and mean difference.

The results indicate that managerial reform configuration in terms of corporatization has been viewed positively by stakeholders, translated into a comforting agreement score toward ZI’s improved management performance (collection, disbursement and reporting). Such perceptions are, however, observably sensitive to demographic factors of gender and employment type. The survey also document evidence that the corporatization exercise itself had improved respondents’ confidence toward ZI being the zakat administrator in the State.

The research contributes to the public policy debate with respect to corporatized ZI’s management performance from the stakeholders’ perspective. The results are arguably informative at various levels, forming a basis for reality check and policy inputs for various stakeholders, including (but not limited to) the ZI itself, zakat payers and asnafs, particularly in designing relevant and necessary administrative strategies and relevant policy formulation in addressing the performance and accountability issues in ZIs.