Waqf governance: a paradigm shift towards the sustainability of waqf benefit

The purpose of this paper is to study and review the current practice of waqf governance and accountability in Malaysia's State Islamic Religious Council (SIRC) in general. Waqf is becoming an increasingly important transaction practiced in most Muslim countries, and it provides benefits to the Muslim community in a variety of domains such as religion, education, medicine, and socioeconomic activities. The benefit of waqf is its long-term viability. Waqf is explored worldwide and it has become a SIRC stream discipline embedded in most organizations. The rapid development of waqf demands a good governance system to ensure the sustainability of waqf assets and benefits. However, it was found that waqf did not successfully meet the needs of the community as it should have because of issues such as mismanagement, non-uniformity in its practices, and lack of awareness by the Muslim community. The status of waqf has deteriorated to the extent that in some countries waqf assets have been neglected. In Malaysia, waqf management is under the jurisdiction of the state government and is entrusted to the SIRC. This has effects on the non-uniformity of laws and governance systems. Based on waqf practices, this study combines a qualitative research technique with an exploratory research design with content analysis and library research. It is appropriate because it entails the examination of documents, including the relevant books and empirical articles. The findings from this study summarize the governance principles of both the public sector and the COSO 2013 standards are in line with Shariah governance, but the advantage of Shariah governance is dual accountability, which involves accountability to God and fellow human beings. This means that these governance systems and principles are complementary. In this contribution, we propose the improvement of the governance and accountability system. These improvements are important in assisting SIRC, as the sole trustee, in properly managing waqf. Indeed, the establishment of good and systematic governance is a paradigm shift that can assist in ensuring waqf assets and funds are managed and grown in a systematic manner, thus further ensuring their sustainability.