UKM AGAIN

L-R sitting: Prof Abu Hassan (internal examiner), Zulkifli (PhD candidate), myself (external examiner), Prof Mansor (Chairman of the Board of Examiners). L-R standing: Dr Sanep (supervisor), Prof Nor Ghani (Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management) and Prof Abdul Hamid (Chairman of Postgraduate Studies)

For the third consecutive Monday, I was at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) again yesterday. I attended a viva-voce of Zulkifli Daud of the School of Economics, as an external examiner of his PhD thesis entitled Compliant Behaviour of Zakat Payment via Formal Institution in Aceh, Indonesia. The Board of Examiners has passed him but with a number of corrections.

As the two previous Mondays, the flight from Penang was at 7.10 am. My PhD student cum the Fellow of ISDEV Academic Staff Training Scheme, Shahir Akram ferried me to the Penang International Airport early in the morning, shortly after our congregational fajr prayer at my residence. For the two earlier trips, ISDEV Post-Doctoral Fellow Dr Masakaree Ardae from Thailand was the one who rushed me to the Penang airport.

How nice to have ISDEV fraternity who are always ready to help each other. It is definitely different from the time in the 1980's when I was about to introduce the field called Islamic development and establish committed group to work on it. Undeniably I have `friends' then, but I dare not ask them to help me in any sense, even to give a ride to the airport or to send to or pick up from a workshop for car services. I did not know exactly why, but I could recall how our relationship was more of an `intellectual relationship' rather than `personal relationship'. If there was any meeting point, it was just a meeting of mind, not a meeting of heart.

This, Alhamdulillah, have changed. I am surrounded by committed members of ISDEV who are not only developing and integrating their intellect together, but also integrating their hearts to work for Islam. This is one of the outcomes of heart-to-heart approach that ISDEV is adopting, I think. Thanks God.

WHY ISDEV IS NOT INVOLVED IN THE ORGANISATION OF TAN SRI MUHYIDDIN MOHD YASSIN BEST THESIS AWARD ANYMORE

A quite surprise news to some. From now on, ISDEV is nothing to do with the organisation of the Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin Best Thesis Award anymore.

One may perhaps wonder why ISDEV pulled out its involvement in the organisation of the Award. One may recalled that the Award was the brainchild of ISDEV. ISDEV members have been working so hard to establish and organise it, from the outset in 2007, under the name of ISDEV Best Thesis Award, even with a far lesser value of rewards. After the ISDEV Award attracted Yayasan Nurul Yaqeen in general and the Deputy Prime Minister YAB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin in particular to become co-organiser and supported it with an attractive amount of prizes (RM10,000 and RM15,000 for Master and PhD best thesis winners respectively) under the new name - Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin Best Thesis Award - in 2009, ISDEV fraternity worked harder and put all their efforts to ensure its success.

Then why, out of a sudden, ISDEV easily gave it up?

As I have told Yayasan Nurul Yaqeen's representatives - Yayasan's Board Members Tan Sri Abu Zahar Nika Ujang and Dato' Dr Ismail Ibrahim, as well as Yayasan's Director Nor Zanah Jamari - in a meeeting held at the office of the President of Senate Malaysia Tan Sri Abu Zahar Nika Ujang on Tuesday 12 April 2011, the Award was introduced mainly to honour Islam and to prove to the world that graduates undertaking researches on Islam are brilliant and having a high ability to produce high quality theses. This has been proven, Alhamdulillah, throughout the years eversince the Award was introduced.

If these two objectives were to be accomplished in a more efficient manner as is hoped by Yayasan Nurul Yaqeen in general and the Deputy Prime Minister himself in particular as was expressed by the representatives of the Yayasan during the 12 April meeting, by all means ISDEV is willing to pass the baton to Yayasan Nurul Yaqeen, for ISDEV is well aware of ISDEV's own limitation. Definitely this is not an easy sacrifice, but ISDEV firmly believe that Islam is not solely belong to ISDEV alone and ISDEV is not the only party responsible to uphold Islam. Islam belongs to all and all are responsible to uphold Islam. If one other than ISDEV and without ISDEV one could uphold Islam more effectively than ISDEV, then ISDEV would be so happy to let them going ahead with their endeavours.

Moreover, for the past two years when the Award was co-organised by ISDEV and the Yayasan Nurul Yaqeen, ISDEV graduates have won the Award, firstly during the first year for the PhD Award and secondly during the second year for the Master Award. Being a co-organiser and allowing its graduates to participate in the Award, would definitely raise the issues of objectivity and conflict of interest. However just and professional the assessment process was as was done strictly during the two previous years, avoidance of allegations is not easy. But ISDEV itself could not afford to prohibit its graduates from participating in the nomination of the Award, for ISDEV knows very well that many of them are excellent and have produced outstanding high quality theses. It is definitely a waste if they are not involved in the Award.

It is for the reason of avoiding the questions of objectivity and conflict of interest, as well as of opening the chance as much as possible to ISDEV graduates to compete for the Award, that ISDEV is willingly pulling out itself as the co-organiser of the Award.

Is is undeniably sad to release the organisation of the Award, but for the sake of Islam and graduates that are undertaking researches on Islam, ISDEV fraternity has to face the sadness with the hope that Allah SWT would provide ISDEV with other ideas that could allow ISDEV to uphold Islam further, God willing.

ANOTHER RESPONSIBILITY ASSIGNED

Officers of Lembaga Zakat Selangor and research team members

Yesterday I was at UKM again. This time was at the Chancellor Foundation, to fulfill an invitation by the Foundation, on behalf of the Selangor Zakat Board (Lembaga Zakat Selangor, LZS). The aim was to discuss on a research project on the reassessment of the LZS' zakat distribution guidelines. The research was proposed by the LZS itself, in an attempt to improve the distribution of zakat in the state of Selangor.

The meeting was concluded with an establishment of a research team, consisting of academicians from three universities. They were Associate Professor Syed Ghazali Syed Wafa (head), Associate Professor Dato' Hailani Muji Tahir and Dr Sanep from UKM, myself from USM and Dr Hassan Baharom and Dr Abdul Halim from UiTM.

The research will undertake a content and textual analysis approach, apart from focussed group discussion and participant observation. It will begin by studying relevant existing documents available at LZS and elsewhere, followed by going down to the ground to see the realities. The expected end result would be in the form of suggestions to the LZS in line with the terms of reference agreed in the meeting.

I was ferried to KLIA by LZS driver not long after the meeting. Yes, it was a day return. I flied to KL by 7.10 am flight and returned home by 4.00pm flight. What a small world.

With Associate Prof Dato' Hailani Muji Tahir of UKM, one of the research members

3 IMPORTANT TASKS ACCOMPLISHED LAST WEEK

Last week, three main tasks were aacomplished, Alhamdulillah.

They were firstly the restructuring of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin Best Thesis Award held at a meeting at the office of the President of the Malaysian Senate Tan Sri Abu Zahar Nika Ujang; secondly a talk on the Reassessment of Islamic Economics at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) organised by its School of Economics; and thirdly, the preparation of research proposals for Research University Team Grants.

L-R: Myself, President of Senate Malaysia Tan Sri Abu Zahar Nika Ujang, UKM Syeikh Abdullah Fahim Chair Dato' Dr Ismail Ibrahim and Yayasan Nurul Yaqeen's Director Nor Zanah Jamari

On the first task, decided on Tuesday 12  April 2011 at the meeting, the Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin Best Thesis Award is now fully handled by Yayasan Nurul Yaqeen. ISDEV is not involved anymore in order to give way to the prevalence of objectivity and avoidance of conflict of interest. As students of ISDEV participated in the nomination of the Award and won it every year ever since the Award was introduced, I have requested to pull ISDEV out of the management of the Award. In so doing, ISDEV students could be independent contestants in the same manner as other contestants. The Central Committee members of the Award were also agreed to be appointed among prominent Professors of five established universities, viz. Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and International Islamic University Malaysia. The name of the Award too would be likely changed to National Best Thesis Award, pending on the approval of related authority.

On the second task, I have expressed concerns on the seven deficiencies of the present mainstream Islamic economics. They are the untransformed structure of the Islamic economics, an absence of the redefinition of operating concepts, the remaining of conventional economic assumptions, inaccurate ultimate aim, pseudo-Islamic operational mechanisms, erroneous research methodology, and knowledge-practice dichotomy of the Islamic economists. Held at a lecture theatre of the School of Economics, the solicited talk was attended by lecturers and graduate students of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia with a lot of interesting Q&As that inspired me to write an abstract for an International Islamic Economics and Finance Conference to be held in Doha, Qatar in December this year, and hopefully would eventually lead to a writing of a book, InshaAllah.

On the final task, two research proposals of mine have been completed; firstly on Research Methodology in Malaysian Universities, and secondly on The Strategies of Islamic-Based Development in the Reality of Contemporary Politics. These proposals are two of eight proposals that ISDEV are submitting to USM Social Transformation Platform for Research University Team Grants. The other six are on the Moulding of Islamic Development Index, Human Factors in the Development of Ethics and Inspection System in Islamic Development Institutions, Zakat Accounting of Commercialised Agricultural, Shari`ah Principles of Contract in Construction Industries, Corporate Social Responsibility of Islamic Banks, and the Application Waqf Istibdal. The eight proposals are divided into two research teams, firstly Islamic Development Management Team which I will lead, and secondly the Management of Islamic Assets Development which will be led by Dr Zakaria Bahari.

HECTIC BUT ENJOYABLE (AND HOPEFULLY MEANINGFUL) LIFE

Presenting Shafiza (Master Mixed-Mode graduate 2009) ISDEV Excellent Dissertation Award 2011 during ISDEV Graduate Night, 18 March 2011. She is one of the six Master Mixed-Mode graduates who won the Award.

Still as hectic as usual.

After a week in Medan and Lake Toba  (11 to 17 March) and fulfilling whatever have to be accomplished there - viz. signing of ISDEV-Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara (UMSU) MoU, presenting a paper  at International Seminar on the Application of Islamic Management, launching of ISDEV-Universitas Sumatera Utara-Universitas Medan Area Journal of Islamic Development Politics,  delivering keynote address at the 4th International Workshop on Islamic-Based Development, and leading an intellectual expedition to Lake Toba and Somasir Island in Prapart -, I attended ISDEV Graduation Night in USM a day after arrival in Penang. These were followed by participation in a Regional Conference on Zakat organised by JAWHAR in KL on 22 March, and remained there in KL till yesterday, 25 March, to complete editing work of articles for a series of edited book on the Transformation of Zakat, based on papers presented at ISDEV 5th International Conference on Islamic Development Management (IDMAC10) last December, as well as discussing with potential publishers to publish them.

Even this weekend, since yesterday until Sunday 27 March, I am supposed to be on the top of Gunung Jerai to fulfill an invitation by Pusat Urus Zakat Pulau Pinang for a brainstorming to improve the management of the institution. But as the formal invitation came in a short notice, I am unable to make it. So is another invitation to talk on Economics of Southeast Asia - An Islamic Perspective at a roundtable meeting of the representatives of Southeast Asian countries on Tuesday 29th, also because of short notice.

Yes, a hectic life, but an enjoyable one and hopefully meaningful in the eyes of Allah SWT. Photos below are some of those activities.

25 March 2011 - About to leave Quality Hotel City Centre in KL for Penang after completing editing books on Zakat Transformation and meeting with potential publisher.

23 March 2011 - With PTS Islamika editors Rohidzir and Amirol (3rd and 2nd right respectively) after a meeting on the possibility of publishing books by ISDEV members with them

22 March 2011 - At Regional Zakat Seminar 2011 on Zakat Fund as a Means for Poverty Elimination Amongst Asnaf, at Legend Hotel KL, organised by JAWHAR

17 March 2011 - At Polonia International Airport, Medan, Indonesia with wife, ISDEV Deputy Director Dr Fadzila Azni Ahmad and Indonesian brothers, shortly before leaving for Penang

18 March 2011 - Families of ISDEV Graduates at ISDEV Graduate Night 2011

16 March - Dinner at the house of Pak Suhrawardi, the Deputy Rector of Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara (UMSU)

Visiting Pak Siregar (sitting 2nd right), the Rector of Universitas Pembinaan Masyarakat Indonesia (UPMI), one of ISDEV sympathisers in Medan

15 March - Launching the Journal of Islamic Development Politics (JISDEV), co-published by ISDEV, Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) and Universitas Medan Area (UMA) at the 4th International Workshop on Islamic-Based Development (WAPI-4)

15 March - With Dr Zakaria and Dr Zahri at the 4th International Workshop on Islamic-Based Development (WAPI-4)

13 March - ISDEV fraternity at a jetty in Prapat, after boarding off from a boat from Samosir Island

13 March - Impromptu `nashid concert' hosted by ISDEV PhD candidates Syakir and Anwar after dinner at Wisma Wisata Bahari, our accommodation in Prapat. Also performed at the `concert' were ISDEV Alumni Dr Sukiman and graduate students Datuk Chairil Anwar, Taha and Ridzuan

13 March - In front of a hotel on Samosir Island with wife (right), daughter and ISDEV graduates

14 March - Suria, former Aceh Member of Parliament currently pursuing his Master degree at ISDEV, performing an Aceh's song in the bus on our way back to Medan from Prapat

12 March - Presenting a paper at International Conference on Islamic Management Application at UMSU

13 March - ISDEV fraternity on a boat to Samosir Island

13 March - ISDEV Alumni Dr Sukiman of Institut Agama Islam Negeri Medan delivering a tazkirah in the bus on our way to Lake Toba

11 March - ISDEV Deputy Director Dr Fadzila Azni Ahmad (3rd left) with my family members at Penang International Airport before leaving for Medan, Indonesia

12 March - Signing of Memorandum of Cooperation between ISDEV and UMSU, represented by me and UMSU Rector Drs Agussani respectively at the International Conference on Islamic Management Application

ISDEV MUSAFIR CULTURE

It is ISDEV culture. Whenever its members embark on a journey, three things would not be missing. Firstly, the journey will be filled with programmes such as short speeches, quiz, et cetera; they did not sleep on the journey. Secondly, they will hold congregrational prayers - either on the way or when they arrive at the destination. Thirdly, there will be tazkirah after the congregrational prayers.

So too was the culture when ISDEV members made a journey to Kuala Lumpur recently, from 20 to 23 February 2011. The photos below are self-explanatory.

These will be reiterated, InshaAllah, when 40 ISDEV members to be headed by me embark on another musafir trip abroad tomorrow, Friday 11 March 2011. We will be leaving for Medan, Indonesia to participate in two International Seminars and an intellectual expedition to Lake Toba, Prapat till 17 March 2011.

Warjio as MC in the bus

ISDEV Post-Doctoral Fellow from Pakistan, Dr Eshrat Hussain Basri giving his opinion in a discussion in the bus

Mohd Shukri Hanapi as Amir Taariq making announcement about the programmes in the trip

Mohd Syakir presenting a series of live nasyid when we are tired

Shahir Akram delivering tazkirah after fajr congregrational prayer at our accommodation in Universiti Malaya

Another tazkirah after fajr congregational prayer on the corridor of our accommodation at Pangsapuri Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

INTELLECTUAL DISCOURSE AT IFWMI, USIM

On Tuesday 22 February 2011, I returned back to Islamic Science University Malaysia (USIM), but this time with a total of 33 ISDEV members consisting of lecturers, Post-Doctoral Fellows and graduate students, not alone anymore.

Listening to Graduate Presentation

As opposed to the establishment of my individual link during my tenureship at USIM on November-December last year, the aim this time is to build up institutional networking, between ISDEV and the Faculty of Economics and Muamalat (FEM) and the Islamic Finance and Management Institute (IFWMI) of the University. We were received by the Dean of the FEM Dr Asmaddy Haris and the Director of IFWMI Dr Zurina Shafii as well as by their staff and graduate students.

At the half-day occasion, two ISDEV PhD students presented a paper each. Mohd Shukri Hanapi talked on Graduate Researches at ISDEV while Warjio talked on Graduate Supervision at ISDEV. Subsequently, two IFWMI PhD students, Supiah Salleh talked on her research on Shari`ah Audit and Wan Khadijah Wan Mohd Nasir on Halal Traceability of the Halal Products respectively. The occasion ended with a conclusive presentation by AssociateProfessor Dr Kalsum Ahmad on Instrumention in Research Methodology.

Alhamdulillah, ISDEV is adding another institutional partner to its list of networking. Plan for research cooperation between academic staffs of IFWMI/FEM and ISDEV is in the pipeline.

Warjio presenting his talk. On his left is Mohd Shukri Hanapi

With Dr Asmaddy Haris, the Dean of FEM