Abstract. The paper discuss on the importance of facilities management (FM) in supporting mosque function and propose the key drivers for an effective FM practice for mosque. Qualitative research design was adopted in this study. Data were collected using focus group consists of seven (7) participants who have been selected among mosque management committee, FM practitioner and academician. Transcript of focus group discussion was analysed using content analysis. Coding system was applied in order to describe the interpretation of data. The results show that there is an agreement among participants on the importance of FM in supporting mosque function. Although practice of FM in mosque is not widely recognised, but its potential in uplifting and prospering mosque function could not be denied. Therefore, an effective of FM practice in mosque is seen vital. This paper discovered that team working is the most significant drivers to an effective FM practice for mosque. Other key drivers are organisational structure design; appoint knowledgeable and skilled facilities manager; sharing FM knowledge and its benefits; and strong change management. The discovered FM drivers are important for all stakeholders that directly or indirectly involve in mosque management.

The mosque has been a focal point of Islam since its inception, serving as a place of worship, a centre of education, economic pursuits, communal services, and spirituality. However, due to a variety of causes, the scope of mosque functions has been constrained as the world has developed rapidly. In summary, congregational capacity and facilities relating to hygiene, safety, and space utilisation are among the problems being closely examined in Malaysia. Based on the problems, the subject of mosque management's competencies that need to be improved in order to become more professional arises. Reviews of literature suggested that facilities management (FM) approach has the potential to be incorporated in the management of mosque. The purpose of this study is to examine the implementation of FM process in mosque in supporting the achievement of mosque’s functions. A quantitative approach was adopted in this study. The implementation of FM process from 12 state mosques in Peninsular Malaysia were investigated using questionnaire survey which distributed among the mosque management that manage mosque facilities. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the questionnaire survey data with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Results from the questionnaire survey revealed that, 50 per cent of the mosque has implemented most of the FM process model elements whereas other mosque still need further improvement to ensure the standards of FM process model is achieved. The results indicated that there is potential for improvement in mosque that possesses low position in implementing elements of FM process model that includes FM formulation strategy, requirement analysis of services, FM solutions development, FM solutions implementation and monitoring service provision. The finding could assist the top management level of the mosque in strategising the implementation action plan of mosque facilities management.

This paper examines the philosophical perspectives in research and the justification for the adoption of an appropriate paradigm in conducting social housing management research. An extensive review of established literature related to philosophical perspectives in social science research was conducted which forms part of the methodology. The review revealed several philosophical paradigms for conducting research such as positivism, realism, interpretivism, and pragmatism; and each of these paradigms aimed towards solving the many problems in research through appropriate methodologies. The review also indicated that effective strategy for housing management should be considered through research that is inclined to a relevant philosophical paradigm that dictates the appropriate research tools and design. The paper suggests that pragmatism with its methodological traditions was conceptualized by researchers to ensure not only adequate study of a given social phenomenon in the realm of social science as it views objective reality is embedded in the environment which is encountered through human experience; but also is a set of tools of value for addressing practical problems in the real world regardless of the peculiarity of research environment. Therefore, pragmatism has the potential to offer a suitable methodology to the social science research investigating social housing management in a peculiar environment such as the semi-arid climate by using different methodological combinations to address the research questions through either intermixing of interviewing, observation, and document analysis; relying on interviews rather than observations, or the intermixing of qualitative and quantitative data to address their research question.