The determinants technical efficiency among smallholder cocoa farmers has been well studied in agricultural literature. Among the factors identified are the demographic characteristics that affect farmers' decision-making process and the ability of farmers to execute the decision effectively. In Malaysia, cocoa production is characterized by several problems that lead to low productivity. First is the negligence of the agricultural sector by the past administration due to shift in policy favoring manufacturing sector that now accounts for the bulk of foreign exchange earnings. Second is the endemic problem in the cocoa industry. The low productivity has resulted in the continuous fall in percentage share of cocoa output since 2001. Therefore, increasing productivity would increase the percentage share of cocoa production. Accordingly, this study explores the determinants of technical efficiency among cocoa farmers in Malaysia. The study relies upon primary data gathered during the 2013 production season. Data are collected from a set of structured questionnaire administered on 375 smallholder cocoa farmers throughout Malaysia. Results of the analysis show that record keeping, level of knowledge and status of farmers (either part-time or full-time) affects efficiency. This finding suggests that policies that would directly affect these identified variables should be pursued.

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The main objective of this study is to understand and determine the impact of macroeconomic variables on Islamic banks’ profitability in Brunei. The impact of GDP growth rate, inflation, interest rate, exchange rate, oil prices, competition and money supply on Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) profitability was determined from the year 2012 to the year 2016. The secondary data was obtained from DEPD, AMBD and IMF annual reports. The collected data was analysed using Stata 15. The fixed effects panel regression technique was adopted to measure the impact of each variable on Islamic banks’ profitability. The findings revealed that GDP growth rate, inflation, exchange rate, oil prices and money supply have a significant positive impact on profitability. The findings further revealed that oil prices, GDP and inflation were the most significant and exchange rate and money supply were the least significant determinants of profitability. The findings suggest the regulators and policy makers to discover alternative resources to rejuvenate economic and financial system. Islamic bankers may revamp its marketing strategies to reduce the intensity of macroeconomic variables. This study has vigorously contributed in the existing literature of single country analysis of Islamic banks particularly in the context of Brunei.

The objective of the study is to see how far Wagner's law validity can be applied in the Malaysian government development expenditure. According to Wagner's law, fundamental economic growth is a determinant to the public sector growth. The public sector is said to be able to grow at a very high rate when compared to the product growth (income). Accordingly, it can be said that government expenditure behaves elastic with the national product and the interpretation of Wagner's law can provide important policy implications. Using a method known as the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (ARDL) and the border test (bound test) introduced by Pesaran et al. (2001), this study found that four out of five version Wagner basic laws show an interrelationship between the national product and government development expenditure. The long-term analysis also showed that national product has a positive relationship and is significant in influencing government development expenditure. Therefore, it can be summarized that this Wagner's law is still relevant to be applied in Malaysia.

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Rantau Panjang Duty-free Zone is located between the state of Kelantan (Malaysia) and Golok Town (Thailand). This paper seeks to identify issues and problems faced by traders in the Rantau Panjang Duty-free Zone. In addition, the study also aims to identify socio-demographic characteristics of the traders, especially in terms of their citizenship status, sources of supply, ownership status of business premises, sources of capital and income. Data collection using questionnaire, conducted via face to face interviews with 52 traders as respondents, indicates that the main issue facing local traders is competing with traders from Thailand who rent business premises owned by local citizens. About 77% of the premises were rented from the original owner without the knowledge of the authorities. The issue of dual citizenships is still an unanswered question when 48% or the respondents refused to ISSN 1948-5468 2012 www.macrothink.org/jsr 47 answer the relevant question. The weakness of enforcement along the Sungai Golok and Rantau Panjang Duty-free Zone causes smuggling of goods where most of the smuggled goods are traded in the business premises in the Duty-free Zone. This study also found that about 70% of the traders" sources of supply are from Thailand, brought-in either legally or illegally. There are a total of 73% of women traders, and about 82% of the capital for business come from own savings or family assistance. Journal of Sociological Research

Purpose This paper aims to develop the best practices of Islamic estate planning for Muslims. Islamic estate planning is a fixed proposal for the management and outlook of an individual’s assets throughout their life and upon their passing, created by means of existing Islamic estate planning tools, for instance, farāʾiḍ (inheritance), waṣiyyah (will), hibah (gift) and waqf (endowment). Design/methodology/approach The paper used an interview method to obtain information on the best practices of Islamic estate planning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the respondents and estate planning providers in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia. The data gathered was analysed using thematic analysis which involved five phases to construct the best practices of Islamic estate planning. Findings The paper identifies important elements in Islamic estate planning. The elements were outlined as the crucial things that Muslims should do to plan for intergenerational transfer and earning a good share in the hereafter. Research limitations/implications The first limitation of the paper is that the best practices were developed based on a qualitative method. There is no evidence of its validity, which is a gap that can be explored in the future. Second, it involves the perceptions of two types of respondents (individuals and Islamic estate planning providers), which may be broadened to other related stakeholders such as regulators, in future studies. Originality/value This paper presents a framework of best practices of Islamic estate planning, it being one of the first studies to do so, which is not only useful and relevant for Malaysian Muslims but also for Muslims in other countries.

The Malaysian Shariah Advisory Council ('SAC'), established under the Central Bank of Malaysia Act 2009 (Act 701), acts as an authority for the ascertainment of Islamic law in the operation of Islamic Financial Institutions ('IFIs'). Its decision is binding on all IFIs, the Bank Negara Malaysia, the Shariah Committee, the court of law and the arbitrators in Malaysia. Nonetheless, this power may be abused by the SAC to the detriment of the customer stakeholders as the SAC is immune from any legal action. This paper aims to examine the features and legal issues of the SAC. The examination uses legal research methodology. This paper finds that the immunity conferred on the SAC should be abolished and be subject to the judicial scrutiny for the benefits of the IFIs' development in Malaysia. At the ending part of this paper, the authors provide certain recommendations in regard to the issues discussed.