Can Jakim and madanisation help economic planning?

 

What difference can the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) make to the self-respect, dignity and status of the nation?

Though mainstream media is suffering from an extended bout of self-imposed censorship, social media has been replete with comments on the latest announcement by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to expand the role of Jakim in his effort to enhance the country's dignity and status.

"Previously, Jakim's work was to preach, provide training and organise Quran recitation and memorisation competitions with state governments, but Jakim played less of a role in drafting the 12th Malaysia Plan and Madani Budget.

"I have instructed that the role of the muftis, scholars or figures in Jakim should be in line with this development so that their input can be beneficial and can raise the dignity and status of the country," he said in a speech at a national recitation and Quran memorisation competition in Butterworth.

This move raises questions and issues for many stake players as well as stakeholders.

Jakim’s current responsibilities include looking after the welfare of the ummah, regulating the interpretation of Islam that strays away from ahli sunnah wal jamaah, issuing fatwas relevant to the federal territories, and regulating and overseeing halal issues.

Here are some key considerations on the agency that need to go into a discourse on its proper role in the national economy and society.

• Among government agencies, Jakim, since its establishment in 1997, is by some measures the most favoured beneficiary of the annual Malaysian budgetary process. In 2018, taxpayers were contributing RM810 million to Jakim’s operating budget and this had raised concerns as it had ballooned from RM582 in 2011. Since then, the allocation for managing Islamic affairs has increased every year, from RM1.2 billion in 2019 to RM1.3 billion in 2020, RM1.4 billion in 2021 and RM1.5 billion in 2022.

• Although a religious agency to cater to the Muslim population, like other government agencies, Jakim provides inputs into national development planning and the budget.

• The agency has little or no expertise in economic planning.

• Kelantan and Terengganu where religious leaders and organisations have played a key role in socio-economic development since independence have remained the poorest and least developed states in the Peninsula.

The staff at Jakim are primarily educated in Islamic studies rather than economics or the social sciences. Thus, there will be an Islamic orientation around the advice given. The development of the Islamic economy as a discipline is still in its infancy.

There are a few country Islamic economic models to look at but there are no accounts of religious interventions that have led to better development planning or policy outcomes anywhere in the world. It is impossible to expect Jakim to deliver different results.

In addition, in areas where Jakim has been involved in commercial activities, there have been allegations of corruption.

The major question from reviewing Jakim is whether the organisation is technically and scholarly equipped to perform the role that is planned for them.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

Another issue related to Jakim is the very definition of what the concept of Madani means in economics. As yet there are no scholarly papers or models available to structure any future planning although there appear to be a few in the making.

Does this mean that, by default, Jakim will be left to play the key role in defining the economic tone and content of Madani?

What can be expected with Jakim’s enhanced role?

Not only is there likely to be no or little value added to the economic planning machinery and process but there is also the danger that new political and religious cronies and distributional coalitions will piggyback on Jakim’s enhanced role.

Examples could include a push for Madani-related big-ticket procurement contracts in budgets in education, sociocultural ministries, GLCs, etc. This could be the tip of a costly “green” iceberg to be paid for by Malaysians.

This development at the federal level could become the wrong role model and set the trend for the Islamisation of state budgets and the local and national economy.

The larger impact on the national economy and society could include:

• a reconstituted dominant religious agenda bringing falling competitiveness, especially among Muslims

• further division of Malaysians and the introduction of new distortions and inefficiencies into development planning and implementation.

• outflow of local and foreign investment

• outflow of innovative human resources

The extent of damage that Jakim’s involvement in development planning may bring to the investment climate and business community should not be underestimated.

Conclusion

The six principles of Malaysia Madani are sustainability, prosperity, innovation, respect, trust and compassion. This will not take place with Jakim at the forefront of economic planning.

Like Islam Hadhari before which failed in translating lofty principles into achievement, the same can happen with Jakim at the helm of Malaysia Madani whether in economics or in other sectors if its mission is allowed to stray away from what it was originally established to accomplish.

Former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership of the country was during a period marked by a benign domestic and international setting. In particular, local and foreign investors and businesses had given the nation’s socio-economic minuses a lower priority in decision-making.

This time round, Malaysia's socio-economic setting and future are troubled, and challenging and require the inputs and even stewardship of committed economic players with proven track records to tackle successfully.

There is already no lack of economic councils and committees to provide policy guidance and advice to the ministries as well as at the national level.

In addition, a plethora of think tanks, business organisations, NGOs and concerned citizens have provided suggestions and proposals for Malaysia's plans and budget exercises without fail, year after year.

We have previously identified the types of policy reforms needed to enable the country to regain its growth potential. These reforms include:

• broadening of the tax base

• better debt management

• deregulation

• strengthening of safety net programmes

• reform and consolidation of GLCs

• education and labour market reforms

With Jakim called to play an active role in development planning all these organisations and individuals may feel that their inputs are likely to be marginalised or ignored.

Calibration is needed if the prime minister’s good intentions and objectives to realise his Malaysia Madani vision are to succeed. Any formal addition of Jakim into the nation’s economic policy approach has deep implications for the very structure of the executive government and the nation’s democratic system.

Once the convention exists, it will be almost impossible to change this constricting of the planning and policy-making process. One has to ask the question if these implications have actually been considered in depth.

If there is one mission that Jakim can contribute to enhancing the self-respect, dignity and status of the nation, this should be in the fight against corruption of which the agency has been a long-time spectator, and alleged by critics, to be an interested party as well as a participant in rent-seeking and other shady practices. - Mkini

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LIM TECK GHEE is a former senior official with the United Nations and World Bank

MURRAY HUNTER is an independent researcher and former professor with the Prince of Songkla University and Universiti Malaysia Perlis.

RAMESH CHANDER is a former chief statistician of Malaysia and a senior statistical adviser at the World Bank in Washington DC.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.