12th Muzakarah Cendekiawan Syariah Nusantara

(Regional Sharī’ahScholars Dialogue (MUZAKARAH-12))

‘Islamic Finance in Southeast Asia: Towards Optimal Implementation of Zakah Calculation and Debt Recovery Process’.

3rd-4th July 2018, Phuket – The International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) in collaboration with Fatoni University, Thailand has successfully organised the 12th Muzakarah Cendekiawan Syariah Nusantara (Regional Shari’ah Scholars Dialogue (Muzakarah-12)) on the 3rd-4th July 2018 at the Duangjitt Resort & Spa, Phuket, Thailand. The theme for this year’s Muzakarah is ‘Islamic Finance in Southeast Asia: Towards Optimal Implementation of Zakah Calculation and Debt Recovery Process’.

The event commenced with a recitation of some verses from the Quran by Ustaz M. Hasan Hilmi Hassan Shukri, followed by welcoming remarks from Prof. Dr. Mohamad Akram Laldin, Executive Director of ISRA and Dr. Ismail Lutfi Japakiya, Rector of Fatoni University, as well as a special speech by Mr. Mohd Zabidi Md Nor, Bank Negara Malaysia Director of Banking Supervision. Muzakarah-12 was officiated by Mr. Adinan Pakbara, Vice Minister for the Prime Minister of Thailand. The event also featured a signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between ISRA and Fatoni University. After the officiating ceremony, the resolution of Muzakarah Cendekiawan Syariah Nusantara 2017 (Muzakarah-11) was presented by Dr. Marjan Muhammad, the Chairperson of the Resolution Committee.

The first session began with a presentation of three papers on the selected topic namely ‘The Methodologies of Zakah Calculation for Islamic Financial Institutions: An Analysis’. The presenters were Dr. Luqman Haji Abdullah (Malaysia), Dr. Irfan Syauqi Beik (Indonesia) and Ustaz Burhanuddin Lukman (Malaysia). The discussants for these papers were Dr. Zakariya Hama (Thailand), Ustaz Mohd Kamal Mokhtar (Singapore) and Ustaz Mohamad Amin Ibrahim (Malaysia). The first session was moderated by Ustaz Wan Rumaizi Wan Husin.

The second session, moderated by Ustaz Mohd Bahroddin Badri, saw the presentations on ‘The Practice of Zakah Calculation in Islamic Banking Institutions’. The presenters were Ustaz Mohd Nazri Chik (Malaysia), Ustaz Munawwaruzzaman Mahmud (Malaysia) and YM Ustaz Awang Muhammad Takzimallah Haji Ahmad Sanuddin (Brunei Darussalam). The discussants for these papers were Prof. Dr. Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman (Malaysia), Dr. Oni Shahroni (Indonesia) and Ustaz Ahmad Husni Abdul Rahman (Malaysia).

On the second day, the third session, which was moderated by Ustaz Mazrul Shahir Md Zuki began with a presentation on ‘The practice of Zakah Calculation in Takaful Operators’ by Ustazah Khuzama Ab. Rahaman (Malaysia) and Ustazah Yusaini Yusof (Malaysia). The papers were discussed by Dr. Cecep Maskanul Hakim (Indonesia) and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Azman Mohd Noor (Malaysia).

The fourth and final session hosted a forum titled ‘The Debt Recovery Process’ and was moderated by Dr. Noor Suhaida Kasri. The panellists were Dr. Suhaimi Mohd Yusof (Malaysia), Ustaz Fazrihan Duriat (Singapore) and Dr. Zaharuddin Abdul Rahman (Malaysia). The speakers spoke about the recovery process in Islamic finance facilities from various perspectives; Shariah, practitioners, and regulator. The forum session ended with an open discussion and this received an overwhelming response from the participants.

The Muzakarah-12 continued with a discussion on the Muzakarah resolutions among the resolution committees to get feedback and comments from the Muzakarah participants. This session was chaired by Dr. Marjan Muhammad (Malaysia). The Muzakarah-12 resolved, among others, that there is a dire need to provide detailed items in the adjustments made to the zakah calculation. In addition, there should be sufficient disclosure on zakah calculation in the annual financial report of Islamic financial institutions. Muzakarah-12 also suggested some recommendations for optimizing the efficiency of zakah calculation and recovery processes for Islamic financial institutions.

The Muzakarah-12 ended with closing remarks from Dr. Zakariya Hama, Dean, Faculty of Islamic Studies and Laws, Fatoni University and Prof. Dr. Ashraf Md. Hashim, the CEO of ISRA Consultancy.

For the detailed Resolutions of Muzakarah 12, please click here.