The Kuala Lumpur Centre of Excellence (KLCoE) has participated in the ‘8th Global Waqf Conference (GWC) 2020’ organised by University Tun Abdul Razak (UNIRAZAK) under the theme ‘Practising Waqf in Every Facet of Life’.

The event commenced with the welcoming remarks by Datuk Dr Ghazali Mohd Noor, Convener of Global Waqf Forum. In his remarks, he stressed that time has come for the needs to transform the governance of Waqf as the tool to further develop the socio-economic development of the Muslim world. He suggested that the lost legacy of Waqf must be revisited, reset, reinvented and reengineered in all aspects of life to better serve the Ummah particularly, and humanity in general.

He also highlighted that the Government of Malaysia has recently taken a drastic action by announcing in the National Budget 2021 that it shall have an official stance on Waqf in the national development mainstream agenda adding the Global Waqf Forum is on its way to build the Global Waqf Development Gateway, in partnership with all stakeholders.

Dato Sri Syed Hussein Al-Habshee, Chairman of Islamic Religious Council, delivered the first keynote address quoting Waqf as one of the most important instruments in wealth distribution of Islamic system that plays a vital role in the socio-economic development of the society. He commended all global Waqf institutions including the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) for all its initiatives, achievements and milestones thus far in the Waqf development.

The second Keynote address was delivered by Prof Emeritus Dr Barjoyai Bardai of UNIRAZAK who in his remarks, he outlined the key elements of Malaysian Waqf Master Plan in terms of its vision, mission and the development strategies. The world’s evolution in moving towards the ‘Third Sector’ as the new catalyst of economic development where it promotes social enterprise and endowment fund system, was being mentioned too. He also introduced the idea of ‘Digital and virtual Waqf Currency’ as an ultimate objective in Waqf activities.

The potentials of Waqf in Malaysia were addressed by Assoc Prof. Dr. Amir Shaharuddin, CEO of Waqf Foundation Malaysia in the following keynote address. He stressed the importance of collaboration between Waqf agencies and Financial Institutions as the critical success factor in Waqf development where most State Religious Councils claimed that access to financing is the major impediment that hinders the Waqf development.

Another keynote speaker was Mohamed Abida, Acting Head of KLCoE who introduced the role and functions of KLCoE in the context of development. He then highlighted the current initiative on Waqf between IsDB and Malaysia Development Bank which is the Malaysia Awqaf Properties Investment Fund. Joining Mr. Abida in the session was Hassan Mahfooz of IsDB’s Islamic Financial Services Department (IFSD) who presented the Awqaf Properties Investment Fund (APIF) in terms of the types of projects financed by APIF, general terms requirement, success stories, impact to development and the proposed areas of cooperation.

The final Keynote Address was delivered by Mr. Hamid Rashid, Founder of Finterra who showcased the global plantation project, based on Waqf concept that leverages blockchain technology.