The two-day conference attended by over 250 participants was themed ‘Unleashing the Potential of Waqf through Islamic Capital Market’. It brought together stakeholders from the waqf ecosystem, including policy makers, government agencies, academia, Shariah advisers, State Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs) and capital market practitioners.

SC Chairman Dato’ Seri Dr. Awang Adek Hussin, in his welcome remarks, said Islamic social finance has long been instrumental in promoting waqf as an instrument in socio-economic development agenda.

“Waqf has immense potential to be used to achieve socio-economic development goals in addressing poverty, unemployment, as well as financing of healthcare, education and infrastructure development,” he said.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Dato' Setia Dr. Haji Mohd Na'im Bin Mokhtar in his keynote speech highlighted that the dynamics of waqf-structured Islamic social finance instruments have the potential to significantly contribute to the enhancement of financial inclusion.

This, he said, is recognised as an important factor in realising sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as poverty alleviation and economic growth.

At the conference, discussions centred on opportunities for stakeholders to collaborate and expand the impact of waqf. Panel sessions and lectures also discussed fundamental reforms and augmenting the role of Islamic social finance as a catalyst in tackling societal challenges.

The sessions were conducted by, among others, renowned industry leaders in the Islamic social finance space such as Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar, Recipient of the Royal Award for Islamic Finance 2022, Founder and Executive Chairman of Amanie Group; Professor Dr. Ashraf Md Hashim, member of the SC’s Shariah Advisory Council (SAC), as well as Professor Dato' Dr. Mohd Azmi Omar, President and Chief Executive Officer of International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF).

Dato' Setia Dr. Haji Mohd Na'im also announced that the SC would collaborate with academia and key stakeholders to publish the second edition of the SC’s waqf book, which will complement the first book published in 2014.

The book will also be well placed as one of the main reference points for the development of waqf through the Islamic capital market (ICM) alongside the National Waqf Masterplan which is to be launched later this year.

The SC’s first waqf book titled Waqf Assets: Development, Governance and the Role of Islamic Capital Market, discussed pertinent issues and challenges while promoting the development of waqf assets through the ICM.

The conference concluded with a closed-door Roundtable comprising 54 participants from State Islamic Religious Councils leadership, policymakers, academia, members of the SC’s Shariah Advisory Council (SAC) and capital market players.

A key outcome from the Roundtable discussion will be a strategic report with recommendations moving forward for practical and impactful initiatives bridging and harnessing the potential of waqf and ICM spurring socio-economic development.