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.