Postgradasia - INCEIF booth

Yesterday I went to Postgradasia kat KL Convention Center. My only intention was to go to INCEIF's booth. Ni key-takeaways from the booth for PhD in Islamic Finance.

Key-takeaways for PhD Islamic Finance programme-
1) Ada 2types of programmes:-Coursework & Dissertation and Coursework & Research
2) Fees are same for part time and full time
3) Kelas at 6.30pm till 9.30pm weekdays
4) Vigorous selection process for PhD programme cz they only need around 20 candidates for each intake.

1- Types of programmes
a) PhD by Coursework and Dissertation- Have to complete 9 core courses + 4 elective courses + Dissertation (Dissertation = 24 credit hours)
b) PhD by Coursework and Research - Have to complete 7 core courses + Research (Research = 42 credit hours)

List of Core Courses are as follows:

• Islamic Economic
• Islamic Finance 
• Corporate Finance
• Usul Fiqh & Qawahid Fiqhiyyah
• Fiqh Muamalat
• Islamic Law of Contracts
• Accounting for Islamic Financial Transactions
• Research Methodology in Economics & Finance
• Financial Econometrics

List of Elective Courses (Any 4)

• Takaful Operations
• Islamic Risk Management
• Islamic Banking
• Islamic Portfolio Management
• Islamic Capital Market
• Islamic Wealth Management
• International Finance
• Advance Econometrics
• The Quran & the Economy: An Introduction

(coloured are the one that I'm interested to take) 

2. Total Fees for the whole programme= RM32,000

- 1 credit hour = RM500. most of the subjects   have 3 credit hours except for 1 that have 4 credit hours.

- Can apply scholarship MyPhD (gov scholarship) thru Jabatan Pengajian Tinggi (JPT)

- INCEIF also have their fund (fi sabilllah fund) but it would be per sem basis and only to eligible candidate.

3. Kelas petang after work @ 6.30pm

4. Selection process cm ssh gile. Part of the selection process is interview session with the academician in INCEIF (compulsary). (Ingatkan sesape yang apply leh jek dapat. Taktau lak dasyat gak process dia). Out of beratus apply, dlm 20 lbh jek (kot) yang terpilih. Menurut diorg, element penting  yang di-take into consideration

• level of English cz pembelajaran dalam English
• proposal topic and our knowledge pasal proposal tuh or the industry (kot)
• education back ground especially PhD by Research cz nak wat research kene la tau pasal industry Islamic Finance nih.

(ni based on short term memory smalam je la. maybe ada benda lain yg diorg bgtau tapi tak ingat) 

Lame gak la kat booth tuh sampai org kat situ dah tak tau nak jawap pe dgn soklan2 yang ditanye..Siap dia suggest g je la kat INCEIF office leh wat tour alang2.haha (perli ke pe)..Antara soklan ala2 analyst yang dikira soklan bombastic yang akan di emailkan jawapan later

- Failure rate / Passing mark (yang pasti Financial Econometrics is the killer subject cz failure rate agak tinggi banding dgn subj len. Dgr subject dah takut, tau dah sape ngajar lagi rase gerun.huhu)

- Whether can change part time to full time and vice versa

- Whether can change PhD by Research to PhD by Dissertation and vice versa

Anyway thanks to the person in charge ari tuh. He was very helpful and sangat bersabar menjawab soklan2 cepemas yang ditanye..

My concern (ye ye jek cam confirm nak amik PhD nih...)

- Tak smua elective courses offered will be available as the courses offered would be based on availability of the lecturer. If lecturer ni takde, sape nak ajar cz as we know tak banyak expertise pn industry nih..So quality of the lecturer sangat lah penting.

Hurm...banyak benda nak consider if btol2 nak buat PhD nih..Hopefully leh dapat conclusion nanti sebelum November thn ni for next year's intake.

Stock Screening..what is it?

Seperti yang dijanjikan, saya akan mengupas pasal stock screening (nak translate dalam BI tak pasti). So here we are.
STOCK SCREENING is not a common term for a layman unless that person is a Muslim dan memang invest in a stock market. Tapi ada je yang 'langgar' sebab tak tau kewujudan Stock Screening. To be honest, I dont even know about this until I took "Islamic Financial Planning" subject mase zaman belajar dulu and it became my favourite topic. So here are some common FAQ regarding Stock Screening.

What is Stock Screening?
Its a screening of stocks in the stock market to 'screen' which stock is a Shariah compliant and which one is not.

Why Stock Screening important?
Screening ni penting untuk orang Islam sebab we do not want to invest in stocks that operates in a Shariah non-compliant activities eg in gambling or liquor company.

Who screen the stocks?
Ada banyak organization yang buat Screening and don't be surprise, ada banyak cara screening dibuat and till now belum ada 1 universal screening. Kat Msia, kite ada SC nyer SAC yang bertanggungjawab dalam hal2 screening ni. We also have Dow Jones, S&P and FTSE Screening among others. 

If the screening is to exclude shariah non-compliant stocks, kenapa ada byk pencanggahan pendapat?
As I mentioned before, everybody is unique and have their own pendapat. In this case, same jek cume kite tertanya-tanye gak cz halal and haram mmg dah termaktub. Takde sape leh halalkan yang haram and vice versa. Cume in Islamc finance takde yang betul2 putih (halal) dan hitam (haram)...Banyak grey area yang membuatkan Shariah Committee berbeza pendapat. They may have their own resolution but not all agree with it. So penting untuk kite 'explore' sendiri dan cari our own conclusion (which side nak ikut). tapi kite dah ada Shariah Council yang pikirkan/ buat research untuk kite). Cume if still was-was..carilah jawapan dengan buat research sendiri.


So, how's the screening process?
As kite smua Malaysian, I give our SC's Stock Screening. SC dah set-up SAC untuk check whether a stock comply tak dgn Shariah and the List of Stocks/ Securities will be publish in SC's website. This list would be updated twice a year. 


The process can be found in SC's website, look for List of Shariah Compliant Securities by SAC (List). This is a summary of the Screening.

The List also have the List of Stocks that used to be Shariah compliant but no longer Shariah compliant. This may due to change of business activities etc. 

Shariah compliant stocks which subsequently jadi Shariah non-compliant. 

Ada je kes dimana stock tuh Shariah compliant (patuh Shariah) tapi ada la aktiviti yang diorg buat yang disqualify kan diri mereka dari tergolong dalam stock patuh shariah...pe nak buat?nak jual terus?tapi kalau still rugi cmner?tak kan nak tanggung kerugian??

Dalam 'List' tuh ada cara2 yang dicadangkan cmner nak buat dgn stock tuh..ni agak technical cz maybe Islamic Fund Manager jek yang apply benda2 nih..Tp pe salahnyer as individual kite blaja gak kan?Summary nyer as follows:

(semangat tak pic2 nih..nampak tak betapa fav nyer topic nih?hehe)

What is Purification?

Ni agak lagi 'up' nyer discussion and kat Malaysia tak apply benda nih. Basically, purification ialah kite meng'pufiry'kan income kite yang kite dapat dari saham/unit trust yang mempunyai mixed activities. Caranye senang jek, kite agak2 brape % activity yang tak comply, use that %, dan kite bagi charity that part..

Agak complicated tapi I try to give the illustration.Eg, invest in unit trust that have mixed stocks that comply and non-compliance with Shariah. 80% comply and 20% tak comply. So, the income from that unit trust (capital gain or/and dividend) takleh la kite amik 100%. The 20% yang tak comply tuh kene di'charity' kan..Kat ner tuh persoalan lain dan sama2 lah kite fikirkan kpd sape kite leh charitykan duit tuh cz itu consider duit yang 'kotor'. 

Nape takleh invest kat stocks yang shariah non-compliant?

The main reason cz activiti2 yang tak patuh shariah ni some of it memang dah sah2 haram..eg, takkan kite nak beli saham stok Guiness lak kan..Dah la jual arak, benda haram..nak ada 'share' lak kat company camtuh. Sebab tuh SC adakan initiatif buat List tuh so that as a Muslim, kite ada guidance. Nak check sendiri satu-satu stock akan mengambil mase yang lame dan maybe tak kan dapat smua info dengan tepat. So, ikut je lah short cut yang dah diberikan.

Pe beza SC nye Screening dgn yang lain?

Ada few perbezaan antaranye Qualitative Screening tuh ada yg include Military/Weapon (meaning takleh invest kat comp yang buat weapon)

Then part qualitative lak, Dow Jones tgk kat Balance Sheet tp SC tgk revenue etc..Perbezaan nyer more towards how they think what can make a company considered as "Islamic" ie the activity in accordance with Shariah.

Limitation of the List

Nothing is perfect and I would say SC's initiative to have the List is very helpful to Muslim investors. But there are room for improvement. What area? (This is only my opinion/suggestion on what they can improve)

1) Since the List updated twice a year (while Financial Statement (FS) are reviewed quarterly), there might be some changes in between quarters that already disqualify the stock to be Shariah compliant. Eg, Company A's FYE is on September. Normally by November they would have audited FS, wheres SC would 'check' their quarter June's FS if the latest FS is not ready. Even the transparency on which quarter also not stated in the List. 

2) IPO Listing. For IPOs that would be listed, investors have to read the Prospectus to know whether the Stock is Shariah compliant or not. And if u missed the Prospectus, u have to wait till next issue of the List to know the status. Eg, Comp B listed on June and thatinvestor wanted to buy the stock somewhere in August. If an investors cannot find the Prospectus of the stock, there are limited avenue the investor can check the status. I'm sure not many individuals have Bloomberg at home. 

Recommendation 

Apart from the above, 

1- Even berbeza pendapat, bagus gak if in future leh adakan 1 jek screening. (Mmg ssh la nak jadi ni tp pe salahnyer hope for it)

2- Try to make it transparent for the benefit of Muslim investors, i.e., if a company nak sipi2 jek exceed the benchmark, maybe can make some soft 'warning' to the investors untuk berjaga-jaga in case the stock may disqualify next quarter. As mention above, quarterly result may not be the same every company and it may be too late to wait for the List. If la terjadi sebegini, banyak keje Fund Manager nak charity kan income from that investment. Obviously big boss ngamuk.And even if tak sampai tahap untuk charitykan this stock due to inability to sell the stock (underwater), would the u be confortable to have a shariah non-compliance stock in your portfolio??

3- Adakan info on whether or not a company even apply for the Shariah compliant status. Is it an option or its a compulsory accessment to ALL STOCKS in the stock exchange? 

Apart from that, I think SC had done superb job in this area. Keep up the good work!!

All information above are available in SC's website @ 

http://www.sc.com.my/paper.asp?pageid=877&menuid=774&newsid=&year=2012

Prolong issue on ASB dan sebagainya

This is the reason I started this blog. A good friend of mine asked me about this few days back. It seems that people are talking about this but not many really do 'research' to get their answer. And this is not the 1st time I've been asked about this topik. So, lets analyse why we have 2 fatwa(s) regarding this. (macam sesi pembelajaran lak bunyik).

Sebelum nak bg hujah2..i just want to share some interesting facts. People are unique in their own way. Part of it is that, we have different way of thinking. That's why there are a lot of argument in this world. Coz people think they are right but u have to acknowledge others opinion too. To me, that's the main reason why we have different fatwa(s) or Shariah resolution for that matters. The most important thing is to 'study' the subject matter and make your own judgement. I'm not in the position to say which fatwa is right what more to say u should invest or not in any investment. But, as I said, do your own research and all up to your 'tolerance' level on the subject matter.

So, here the exciting analysis begins.... (its important for me to put the source cz you can do ur own research sendiri later..more kpd disclaimer benda2 bkn direka..hehe)

Details y Majlis Fatwa cakap HARUS...(http://www.e-fatwa.gov.my/fatwa-kebangsaan/pelaburan-dalam-asn-asb-dan-seumpamanya)

Keputusan: 

Muzakarah Jawatankuasa Fatwa Majlis Kebangsaan Bagi Hal Ehwal Ugama Islam Malaysia Kali Ke-80 yang bersidang pada 1 - 3 Februari 2008 telah membincangkan Pelaburan Dalam ASN, ASB Dan Seumpamanya. Muzakarah telah memutuskan seperti berikut:

Setelah mendengar taklimat dan penjelasan serta meneliti keterangan, hujah-hujah dan pandangan yang dikemukakan, Muzakarah bersetuju memutuskan bahawa bagi menjaga kepentingan dan maslahah umat Islam serta mengelakkan kemudharatan yang lebih besar, hukum melabur dalam skim Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) dan Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) serta dividen atau bonus yang diterima adalah harus.

Keterangan/Hujah: 

 

1. Hifz al-mal merupakan salah satu masalah daruriyah yang perlu diberi perhatian serius oleh pemerintah. Soal kekukuhan ekonomi umat adalah merupakan salah satu faktor penting kepada penerusan kemajuan umat Islam. Islam menegah umatnya menjerumuskan diri dalam kemudharatan dan kefakiran yang boleh menggugat kekuatan ummah.
    
2. Setiap hukum yang diputuskan perlu memenuhi tuntutan keadilan, maslahah dan menghindar daripada kerosakan dan keruntuhan yang lebih besar. Dalam hal ini, Maybank adalah satu institusi perbankan Islam terbesar di Asia Pasifik. Sekiranya PNB melepaskan pegangan dalam Maybank, ia bukan hanya akan meruntuhkan ekonomi pemegang saham yang majoriti adalah orang Melayu Islam, bahkan ia juga akan memberi kesan besar kepada situasi ekonomi negara dan banyak organisasi berkaitan orang Islam. Begitu juga peluang pekerjaan yang melibatkan 16,531 kakitangan Bumiputera Islam juga akan turut terjejas
    
3. Dalam menentukan hujah keharusan Islam dalam pelaburan ASN dan ASB ini, adalah tidak tepat hujah bersandarkan maslahah ummah ditafsirkan sebagai mengenepikan prinsip-prinsip Islam kerana maslahah juga adalah prinsip Islam yang perlu dipegang dalam penentuan sesuatu hukum.
    
4. Prinsip pensyariatan Islam yang telah digariskan iaitu kewajipan menjaga lima(5) perkara iaitu agama, nyawa, akal, zuriat dan keturunan serta harta benda perlu dipertahankan kerana ia menjadi tunjang kehidupan seluruh umat Islam. Sekiranya terjejas salah satu daripada perkara ini, maka umat Islam akan ditimpa kehinaan yang akan menjejaskan agama dan kehidupan. Dalam hal ini, hukum ke atas pelaburan ASN dan ASB tidak boleh dilihat dari aspek tertentu sahaja, tetapi perlu mengambilkira semua kesan yang akan dihadapi oleh agama dan umat Islam.
    
5. Dalam isu pelaburan yang bercampur antara halal dan haram, telah jelas bahawa PNB tidak melabur dalam sektor yang berkaitan dengan arak dan judi. Percampuran hanya berlaku dalam sektor kewangan di mana 70% pelaburan menepati syariah, hanya 30% sahaja pelaburan dalam Maybank yang dianggap masih tidak comply dengan syariah. Dalam keadaan ini, pelaburan dalam sektor yang halal lebih banyak daripada yang haram. Menurut sebahagian besar fuqaha’ iaitu Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i dan Hanbali, pendekatan untuk mengharuskan masyarakat Islam melabur dalam saham syarikat yang bercampur aktiviti halal dan haram adalah berasas. Ini kerana fuqaha’ muktabar tidak mengharamkan syarikat sedemikian ketika menilai status syarikat yang dikongsi oleh orang Islam dan bukan Islam.
    
6. PNB telah melaksanakan perubahan yang terbaik khususnya dalam aspek pelaburan bagi membolehkan penguasaan umat Islam. Dalam hal ini, maslahah umat Islam adalah penting dan kemudharatan yang lebih besar perlu dielakkan.

Nape ada yang cakap HARAM (http://www.e-fatwa.gov.my/fatwa-negeri/penilaian-semula-hukum-pelaburan-aamanah-saham-nasional-asn-dan-amanah-saham-bumiputera)

Setelah meneliti setiap pandangan ahli mesyuarat dan hujah-hujah yang dikemukakan, maka Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Fatwa Negeri Selangor Kali Ke 2/2011 yang bersidang pada 12hb. April 2011M bersamaan 8 Jumadal Ula 1432H telah bersetuju memutuskan bahawa Pelaburan Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN), Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) dan Seumpamanya adalah tidak halal kerana masih belum menepati hukum syarak dengan alasan seperti berikut:-

 

1. Skim Amanah Saham Nasional ( ASN ) dan Amanah Saham Bumiputera ( ASB ) secara jelas terlibat dalam aktiviti pelaburan yang bercampur-campur antara patuh syariah dan tidak patuh syariah sebahagian besarnya adalah daripada sektor kewangan konvensional. Ini berdasarkan hadis riwayat Jabir Al-Ja’fi daripada Ibnu Mas’ud:
   
   ما اجتمع الحلال والحرام إلاغلب الحرام الحلال
   Maksudnya : “ Tidak bercampur antara yang halal dan yang haram, melainkan mengalahkan yang haram atas yang halal . ”
2. Skim Amanah Saham Nasional ( ASN ) dan Amanah Saham Bumiputera ( ASB ) diklasifikasikan sebagai dana unit amanah tidak patuh syariah oleh Majlis Penasihat Syariah Suruhanjaya Sekuriti kerana terlibat dalam pelaburan tidak lulus syariah iaitu pelaburan dalam kaunter perbankan konvensional berteraskan faedah melalui Maybank dan pasaran wang.
    
3. Sumbangan kepada tidak patuh syariah adalah terbesar yang tidak bertepatan dengan kehendak syarak serta kadar yang berubah-ubah ini menyukarkan pelabur untuk membuat pembersihan terhadap hasil dividen.

 Itu baru sikit nyer analysis...Dalan 1/3 dari analysis nyer...(ingat senang keje analyst..smua benda kene 'verify')

Ok kat point haram tuh ada mention pasal Majlis Penasihat Syariah Suruhanjaya Sekiriti (SAC of SC) cakap tak patuh syariah..Apakah itu actually?

Untuk layman yang tak familiar, SC adalah badan yang bertanggungjawab menjaga kepentingan pelabur. So kalau kite invest in ASB, we are pelabur/investor lah basically...Ok continue...SC ada wujudkan Syariah Advisory Council (SAC) untuk protect the Muslim investors. They come out with a Stock Screening untuk determine whether a particular stock is Shariah Compliant ke tak...(detail on this stock screening akan diexplain panjang lebar di post seterusnyer) but, setahun 2 kali SC akan publish list of stocks yang syariah compliant (patuh Syariah)..leh check kat website diorg (http://www.sc.com.my/sub.asp?pageid=&menuid=267&newsid=&linkid=&type=). Kat sini pn ada explain pasal Stock Screening.

Dipendekkan cerita, stock2 yang dibeli dalam ASB dan seangkatan dengan nyer ada bercampur patuh dan tak patuh syariah...Sebab tuh la point no2 kat part haram tuh cakap tak patuh syariah..

Hujan HARAM banyak cerita pasal Maslahah dan ada sentuh pasal Maqasid al-Shariah dan ianya lebih berbentuk qualitative. So nak analyze lebih2 cm susah nak concludekan disini. Tapi nak ditekankan disini, bukan sahaja sektor kewangan yang tak patuh syariah, ada gak sektor2 lain yang tak patuh syariah seperti yang dibincangkan dalam List of Syariah Compliant Stocks dari SC.

Third part of this 'analysis' ialah untuk anda sendiri cross-reference stock2 yang ada dalam ASB nye annual report dan List Shariah Compliant Stocks yg SC keluarkan..Please do your homework and make your own conclusion.

Nak insert attachment kat sini tak leh / tak reti...so download lah sendiri Annual Report kat (http://www.asnb.com.my/english/index.htm) and List tuh kat link SC yang diberi tadi...If nama stock takde dalam List Patuh Syariah, makne nyer tak patuh syariah la stock tuh provided that stock bukan recently buat IPO (Initial Public Offering...ini berkemungkinan akan menjadi sesi sharing di masa akan datang)..if tak sure gak, you are welcome to ask me..I'll be happy to share.

Sekian terima kasih..Dasyat gak panjangnyer. Ingatkan tak banyak cz ini kite analysis yang takde lah susah sangat (bukan nak takut2 kan tapi itulah kebenaran bile dah lame buat kene menganalisa).

P/S: Kepada yang tak pasti nama2 stock tuh buat pe/pe main activity mereka, go to their website. Almost all public listed company ada website sendiri.

Bismillah

Hari ni dgn rasmi nyer saya akan 'merasmikan' blog saya nih...Penah terpikir nak buat tapi tak tau nak start kat ner..so few days back, a good friend of mind asked me soklan cepumas yang berkaitan dgn investment. Sebelum pepe, kene bagi disclaimer..Saya bukanlah expert mana..Cume someone yang ter'terjun' ke bidang pelaburan sebab tuntutan kerja.Alhamdulillah saya suke keje saya..So sedikit sebanyak tau lah selok-belok pasal investment. Yang tergerak hati nak buat blog ni initially mmg bertujuan as knowledge sharing to all my freinds yang nak tau pasal investment lebih2 lagi dari aspect Islamic way nye Investment. Ada yg cakap nak tau view dari org yang takde kepentingan politik o juz nak paham benda2 yang tak directy diajar mase blaja kat Uni dulu...Ada gak yang tanye directly pasal stock2 etc...
Maka di blog ini Insya-Allah saya akan share FAQ yang slalu ditanye kengkawan and please do not quote me coz whateva I write here are limited to my knowledge and experience. Selebihnyer, kite sama2 pikirkan la ye..
And of course tak de la serious sangat nak tlis pasal benda serious2 jek..Akan diselit2 kan pepe update yg sepatutnyer (takde idea pn sangat nak tlis pe)..Hopefully this is a start for something good to the ummah..Lastly, i shall share this quote:

"Sharing knowledge is not about giving people something, or getting something from them. That is only valid for information sharing. Sharing knowledge occurs when people are genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capacities for action; it is about creating learning processes."

Peter Senge