The influence of global economy on the path of Malaysian economic recovery

Even though Malaysia seems to be on the right track in combating COVID-19 pandemic, but the situation globally largely heading towards a different direction. The Malaysian government had put high commitment to curb COVID-19 pandemic by implementing several stages of movement control order (MCO). As a result, the curve of new COVID-19 cases was successfully flattened over a period of time. After the implementation of MCO over the period of three months, in which has inevitably harmed the economy,  it was estimated that Malaysia lost 2.4 billion ringgit each day due to the restriction imposed under MCO.  

In order to recover from the damages caused by the COVID-19, Malaysian government has implemented the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) from June 10th to August 31^st, 2020. Recovery is the fourth stage under the ‘6R approach’ employed by the Malaysia government to contain COVID-19. To achieve the objective of the recovery stage, Malaysia has issued economic stimulus package, known as  the “Pelan Jana Semula Ekonomi Negara” (PENJANA), which primarily aimed at helping businesses to recover from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This recovery stage is critical and crucial to determine the success of the government’s efforts  in managing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic to the country.

Apart from political stability, the economic condition in other countries is also important in determining the success of PENJANA towards achieving economic recovery in this country. This is based on the fact that Malaysia is practicing open economy, which is very much influenced by the global economic environment. Malaysian economy cannot survive without export and import activities, foreign direct investments (FDI), tourism and other sectors that are related to international trading. Therefore, the stability and the success of the other countries in containing COVID19 pandemic is very important towards economic recovery in Malaysia.    

It is evident that the global trend of new COVID-19 cases is still increasing. Some countries like the United States of America, Brazil and India, the total number of cases was reported to reach more than 1 million cases among their citizens and in total, more than 500 thousand fatalities were reported globally. This situation rendered all countries in the world to face difficulties the efforts towards economic recovery. Therefore the global economy will continue to slowdown and resulted in an unhealthy economic environment. 

 

As such, how can Malaysia be able to recover its economy? Malaysian economy is very much dependent on international trading. The electrical and electronics (E&E) industry, for example, is a key driver of Malaysia's industrial development and contributes significantly to growth of GDP  export earnings, investment, and employment. The sustainability of this industry is very much dependent on the demand from other countries such as China, US, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. This scenario is similar to the palm oil industry. Being one of the largest producers of palm oil in the world, Malaysia’s revenue from palm oil is very dependent on the export. China and India, both being the main exporters, are struggling to contain COVID-19 pandemic. As the result, the economic growth in their country is not encouraging them to create domestic demand, including demand on the products from the palm oil industry.

In addition, the temperature of confrontation between the United States and China which is increasing lately, has resulted in a more challenging and unstable global economic environment. The confrontation between these two largest economy in the world will put Malaysia’s economy under pressure because Malaysia needs both countries to stimulate its economy. Malaysian economy will be in trouble if Malaysia breaks its trading with any one of these two countries. Therefore, Malaysia needs to maintain its good relationship between both the United States and China. This situation will create more uncertainty to the Malaysian international trade, especially with the United States and China. This will eventually cause negative impact to the Malaysian economy in general.

As the conclusion, since the design of Malaysia economy inherited from British colonization days is very dependent on the export of its commodity and primary products for manufacturing sector, therefore the resilience of Malaysian economy is significantly influenced by the global economy.  It is very hard for Malaysia to recover economically despite having good domestic recovery plan and successfully implemented it. This is because Malaysia cannot control the external factors that influence the global economy.

One of the solutions to create a resilient Malaysian economy and not very much influenced by the external factors is by creating strong domestic demands and increasing its capability to develop new technology to produce end products. However, under current world order which is largely shaped by free market in capitalism and nation states which has divided the Ummah into small and dependent states, the Ummah are incapable to tap into their full potentials. Therefore, apart from employing economic approaches, there is an urgent need for a systemic change which requires political will to unite the ummah under a new leadership towards creating a new world order based on the Islamic aqidah and the systems that emanate from it.

 

 

Challenges in Reviving the Malaysian Economy from the Impact of COVID19

The main challenge for the current Perikatan Nasional (PN) government to implement the plan of reviving the economy due to the impact of COVID19 is political stability. Since the current Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhiyidin Yassin took the job in March, he has yet to prove his government’s majority in Parliament. The question of whether he has enough majority support from the Members of Parliament (MP) is still not answered yet. That question can only be answered if the Parliament meeting is able to be held as normal. Based on the fact that full parliament meeting will allow the opposition party to propose non-confident vote against Tan Sri Muhiyidin Yassin in the Lower House of Parliament. One cannot be imagine, how Perikatan Nasional will be able to handle the impact of COVID19 towards the Malaysian economy without holding a strong position as the government.

The impact to the economy caused by COVID19 is more serious compared to the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997/98. During the Asian Financial Crisis, the government lead by Dato Seri Dr Mahathir was a stable government with 2/3 majority in Parliament, even though was faced pressure from the Reformasi movement. In that position, Dr Mahathir was able to be more focused to find a solution to resolve economic impact of the Asian Financial Crisis. All the economic plans were successfully able to achieve the goals recovering the economy due to the political stability. Logically, since the impact of COVID19 is worse compared to the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997/98, a stronger government is needed to carry the responsibility in facing the impact of COVID19 towards the Malaysian economy.

Therefore, forming a strong government is very crucial for Tan Sri Muhiyidin Yassin in order to execute Perikatan Nasional’s planning to revive the Malaysian economy post COVID19 outbreak. Based on the experience of the Financial Crisis in 1997/98, without a strong government, the Malaysian economy will not be able to revive from the impact of COVID19 outbreak. The 6R (Resolve, Resilient, Restart, Recovery, Revitalize and Reform) economic recovery plan strategy introduced by Tan Sri Muhiyidin Yassin’s team to revive the Malaysian economy is currently at the recovery stage. The successfulness of the implementation of the first 3R (Resolve, Resilient and Restart) is now being tested in the recovery stage, whether all the business and industries are able to recover or not will be known at this stage.

As we have witnessed, Tan Sri Muhiyidin Yassin’s team has been working very hard and show their capability in handling the COVID19 outbreak through the implementation of Movement Control Order (MCO) and introduced several economic stimulus packages. But the continuity’s of his team planning is very much depending on their political stability as a government. A lot of hard work and cost was spent on the war against COVID19 outbreak by Tan Sri Muhiyidin Yassin team. Now their planning at the stage recovery to see whether the first 3R was success successful or not will be ensure at this staged. Recovery stage is crucial and needs a lot of effort’s as well as focus to make sure it can be execute as being planned. But, Tan Sri Muhiyidin Yassin government is currently facing tough pressure from the opposition party. Opposition party which now known as Pakatan Plus seem very active in doing the political manoeuvre to topple the current government. However, in Pakatan Plus are also having their internal problem to name the Prime Minister candidate, either Tun Mahadir or Dato Sri Anwar Ibrahim. 

Even though Tun Mahathir only has a small team from Bersatu with him in Pakatan Plus, but he still has a powerful influence to challenge Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the Prime Minister candidate. This is indeed a strange situation whereby PKR is the dominant party but Tun Mahathir with an only a small team is able to influence the decision of Pakatan Plus to make him as Pakatan Plus’s Prime Minister candidate. Some PKR leaders and supporters are dissatisfied with that situation and they insisted that PKR’s way forward is never to let PKR and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim “be taken for a ride ever again”. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim seems not only not get firm support from his old friends from DAP and Amanah to be Prime Minister candidate but that is also get pressure from inside his party from ‘Azmin’s people'. With the principle of democracy, we can see a lot of new fractional political parties being established, which made a lot of negotiation and compromise needed to form a coalition, fragile coalition.

All this political scenario indicate that political stability in Malaysia far to achieve. It also shows that the struggle to gaining power among politicians will always continue nor matter in what the situation is. Everyone calls for united in their definition, when are they in power, they define united as working together with them and stop going against them. When they are not in power, they define united as a struggle to build a better country and topple the corrupt government. Then, there is no ending going against each other and unity remain a fantasy. Therefore, there is no hope that we are able to have a better life under capitalism and democracy. The tough life we face now will continue and will sure became tougher if our lives are still managed by the same system.

That is the design of the political system of democracy used in our country today. Day by day it shows its weaknesses and limitations. The main problem is the system itself. Democracy is a system designed by human, of courses, it is full of weaknesses and limitations. The best system to manage human life must be from Allah and the system is Khilafah.         

Targeting the Root Cause: Stopping Alcoholic Beverage Industry - The Way Forward!

Despite having Muslims as the majority of the population in this country, which based on their belief, does not consume alcoholic beverage; it can be sold and consumed in large scale in this country because it’s allowed according to the law. The law implemented in a country will determine which goods and services can be sold and consumed, which one is not.

The reason for such unfortunate reality can be traced back to the inception of this country, when the supreme law of Malaysia, Federal Constitution was established by the Reid Commission headed by Lord William Reid. Even though some might argue that during the establishment of the Federal Constitution, the commission opened for recommendations from many parties including Muslim scholars,but we must bear in mind that it is up to the commission to decide whether to include any of these recommendations from the Muslim scholars in the constitution. This indicates that the establishment of the Federal Constitution is based on the framework of the Reid Commission, not based on Islamic one.

Therefore, the decision whether or not any economic goods such as alcoholic beverage or pork can be processed at the industrial scale, then sold and consumed openly is based on the law under Federal Constitution. This is the fundamental knowledge that people need to understand beyond the issue deaths in road accidents caused by drunk driver.

Since the alcoholic beverage industry is legal in this country, then the trading, as well as the consumption of alcohol is allowed to expand like other industries as long as they comply to all related legal provisions. In addition, some might justify that alcohol has also contributed significantly to the Malaysian economy in terms of creating jobs and tax revenue to the government, particularly in tourism industry among others. 

  

Like other industries, it is the government’s responsibility to make sure they comply to the rules and regulations. As long as the industries comply to the law, then they are encouraged to expand so that they can contribute back to the economy. The same thing applied to the alcoholic beverage industry. This is evident when Malaysia, being a renowned Muslim country, but it has been named by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the world’s 10th largest consumer of alcohol despite its small population and size.

The deaths of innocent people because of drunk drivers is seen as a separate issue from the issue of alcohol beverage industry. That’s why we can see that the government’s approach in handling the issue of fatal accident caused by drunk drivers only focuses on the law related to Road Transport Act in addition to campaigns to create awareness on the danger of alcohol abuse, not on the law about the alcoholic beverage industry as a whole, let alone to stop the industry. Strengthening the Road Transport Act may or may not be successful in reducing the incidence of fatal accident caused by the drunk drivers, yet it may not definitely solve the issue pertaining to alcohol consumption as it does address the problems arising from the alcoholic beverage industry. This also applies to the government approach to the issue of domestic violence caused by drunken husband, as the government will focus on finding the solution for the domestic violence instead of addressing the root cause i.e. the alcohol industry as a whole. This is the fact that we need to realize and understand.

Whether we like it or not, we have to admit that the alcoholic beverage industry is allowed and legal in this country, just like the licensed gambling industry. These two sectors were thriving at industrial scale and contribute significantly to the Malaysian economy.

From the secular and capitalistic point of view, there is no reason for the government to shut these two sectors, in fact such move is seen as counterproductive especially during this challenging times as we are facing economic uncertainties following the Covid-19 pandemic.  

Those with higher moral compass, sincere faith, and strong religious awareness who call for closure of the alcoholic beverage industry and restriction of large-scale import face strong opposition particularly from various stakeholders from the industry. Even the Law Minister who hails from political party leaning towards Islam took the path away from tackling the root cause, focusing instead towards ‘symptomatic’ measures similar to the plan that has been outlined by the previous PH government.

Moreover, even though it seems that it is possible to implement definitive solution, but in reality, it is almost impossible to do so, as the supreme law in this country permits the growth of the industry. The same applies to the implementation of hudud in this country. Although it looks like there is glimmer of hope for it to be implemented, but after long polemic and people has gained more understanding about the Federal Constitution, now even the strongest proponent of implementation of hudud via constitutional means has reluctantly realize that it is almost impossible to achieve under Federal Constitution.

In Islam, the policy about alcoholic beverage industry is very clear, that any prohibited good and services such as alcohol, pork, gambling, prostitution and all sorts of haram activities are not considered as economic goods. Therefore, it cannot be manufactured and sold like other economic goods. In other words, according to Islamic rule, no alcoholic beverage industry would be allowed to exist in an Islamic state.  Alcoholic beverage (khamr) is forbidden under ten circumstances, not only for consumption. At-Tirmidhi reported from Anas Ibn Malik who said:

لَعَنَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الخَمْرِ عَشَرَةً: عَاصِرَهَا، وَمُعْتَصِرَهَا، وَشَارِبَهَا، وَحَامِلَهَا، وَالمَحْمُولَةُ إِلَيْهِ، وَسَاقِيَهَا، وَبَائِعَهَا، وَآكِلَ ثَمَنِهَا، وَالمُشْتَرِي لَهَا، وَالمُشْتَرَاةُ لَهُ

“The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم cursed ten in relation to Khamr: its producer, the one assigned with its production, the one who drinks it, the one who transports it, the one it is transported to, the one who serves it, the one who sells it, the one who eats from its profit, its buyer, and the one for whom it is purchased”.

Non-Muslims (Kafir zimmi), on the other hand, are only allowed to consume alcohol in their personal place, and alcoholic beverages are also not allowed to be sold openly to the public. Any activities that involves alcohol consumption  openly are also not allowed in Islam.

As a conclusion, even though the number of cases of deaths of innocent people in accident caused by drunk drivers is increasing, it is impossible to stop the alcoholic beverage industry in this country within the framework of this system, because the existence of such industry is allowed by the constitution. Actions to stop the alcoholic beverage industry means against the constitution and would be challenged by the industry players as it is their right which was protected by the constitution.

The only viable measure that the government can do in handling this issue is to enact the related laws to prevent drunker from driving, no more than that, because main issue not the alcohol industry as a whole but the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. Therefore, the alcoholic beverage industry can only be stopped if the country is ruled based on Al-Quran and Sunnah. The country is none other than the  Khilafah state. Therefore the definitive solution to stop the alcoholic beverage industry which is the root cause that resulted in the widespread negative impacts of alcohol consumptions in our country is through reestablishement of Khilafah state according to the method that was shown by Rasulullah (saw).   

     

Building a Resilient Economy

One of the main factors in the global economy, including Malaysian economy, that causes it to face uncertainty and not resilient is due to the existence of virtual economy/paper economy/financial economy. Virtual economy has a very strong relationship with the financial market that allows the economy to appear much larger than its real size.

This scenario is contributed by many factors, including the existence of capital market that allows virtual economy to grow much bigger than the real economy. Transaction within capital market that moves rapidly as compared to the activities in real economy has resulted in the wealth generated by the capital market to become bigger than those generated by the real economy. Moreover, the capital market can also be used as the basis to produce another financial instrument, namely the derivatives, to generate more wealth. 

As a result, the size of the economy appears bigger, even though there is no growth in real economic activity.  This phenomenon would eventually lead to financial crisis that causes negative impact to the economy, when the financial market collapses. The collapse of the financial market is a ‘natural’ scenario that would inevitably occur in the capitalist economic cycle, when the resulting ‘bubble’ economy systemically expand and finally ‘burst’. Consequently, that burst would eventually leads to financial crisis.

The virtual economy is also encouraged by the printed money system, which allows money to be printed without being backed up with valuable commodities such as gold and silver. This allows money to be printed simply based on confidence (fiat money). Since the money that we use today is backed up with nothing, it is also possible for the money to grow more rapidly at higher rates than the growth of the economy. The currency system today is not only weak but also allows the currency traders to gain profit out of thin air to the extent that they could result in the economic collapse like the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis.

Besides that, the development of the virtual economy is also driven by generating credit based on interest (riba) by the financial industry such as banks. This scenario occurred when money generated in the form of credit and interest through the banking system using method known as fractional reserve banking. This allows money in the form of credit to be circulated in the economic cycle more than the real value of money.

All in all, the size of virtual economy, which is an important method in capitalism system to stimulate the economy, became bigger than the size of the real economy. This phenomenon caused the current economy to be prone to the economy problems such as inflation and recession, because both problems are the eventual consequences of economic activities in capitalism. In other words, inflation and recession are natural part of the capitalism that cannot be separated from the system. 

The current situation of the capitalist system can be likened to a person who has a variety of diseases and very much dependent on medicine to survive. In the year 1997/98, he was diagnosed with diabetes, which required him to take diabetic medicine. After that, in the year 2008 he developed high blood pressure and hypercholesterolemia, and by the year 2020 developed kidney problem over the course of the disease and as the complications of too much dependence on medicine to survive. Consequently, instead of continuing taking medication, the commitment is increasing due to the need for regular dialysis. 

  

Even though the capitalist economy may still survive with medication and undergoing treatments that require high commitment in terms of time, energy and money, but the truth is the body’s vitality has been much reduced, and the ability to do work is not like before. These conditions render the body susceptible to infections such as COVID-19 which can be fatal.Therefore, as long as capitalism that is inseparable from the virtual economy being embraced as the system to manage and expand the economy, there will be no hope for the economic problems to be solved and eventually bring the true wellbeing to humankind. The economic problems may appear to be successfully solved through all sorts of economic stimuli packages, yet the truth is that they were just the medicine to make the body to barely survive while depending on them while at the same time, the body system has already weakened.

In conclusion, to develop resilience and a competitive economy, the virtual economy must be abolished. The true resilient and competitive economy is an economy that grows only in real economic activities, with no virtual economy. Capitalism cannot survive without the virtual economy. In contrast, the Islamic economic system strictly prohibits any activities or transaction related to the virtual economy. Prohibition of the virtual economy in Islam takes place through several rulings pertaining to economic activities. First, any mu’amalah that does not follow principles and rulings on Islamic syrikah is prohibited. Second, Islamic Sharia decreed that the currency must be backed up with gold and silver. Third, riba is prohibited. To successfully implement these three policies, the government that rule solely based on the Al-Quran and As-Sunnah, namely Khilafah System is needed. This is pertinent as the implementation of economic policies requires political will to ensure sustainability and sound structure to support them.

Membina Ekonomi Yang Berdaya Tahan

Salah satu punca utama ekonomi global ketika ini termasuklah ekonomi Malaysia sering mengalami ketidaktentuan dan tidak mempunyai daya tahan yang mampan adalah kerana wujudnya ekonomi yang dikenali sebagai virtual economy/paper economy/financial economy. Virtual ekonomi sangat berkait rapat dengan pasaran kewangan yang membenarkan ekonomi dikembangkan lebih besar daripada saiz sebenarnya.

Keadaan ini disebabkan oleh beberapa faktor antaranya ialah wujudnya sektor pasaran kewangan seperti pasaran modal telah mendorong Virtual ekonomi berkembang dengan lebih besar sehingga transaksi kewangan boleh berlaku dengan sangat laju sehingga dapat menghasilkan saiz ekonomi yang jauh lebih besar daripada nilai sebenarnya. Transaksi pasaran modal yang berlaku dengan sangat laju berbanding aktiviti ekonominya yang sebenar (real economy) telah menyebabkan kekayaan terhasil daripada pasaran modal menjadi sangat tinggi berbanding dengan kekayaan yang terhasil daripada aktiviti ekonomi yang sebenar. Bahkan, pasaran modal dikembangkan lagi dengan lebih laju mengunakan instrument kewangan yang dikenali derivatives.

Kesannya nilai ekonomi yang dihasilkan menjadi berlipat kali ganda lebih besar walaupun tidak berlaku sebarang peningkatan dalam aktiviti ekonomi yang sebenar. Senario ini akhirnya akan berakhir dengan krisis kewangan yang menyebabkan impak negatif terhadap ekonomi apabila pasaran kewangan mengalami keruntuhan. Keruntuhan pasaran kewangan merupakan satu senario ‘semulajadi’ yang pasti akan berlaku dalam putaran ekonomi kapitalis apabila gelembung ekonomi yang dihasilkan secara sistemik semakin membesar dan akhirnya ‘meletup’. Letupan yang pasti menyebabkan terjadinya krisis ekonomi.

Virtual ekonomi juga didorong oleh kaedah percetakan wang yang tidak disandarkan pada sebarang komoditi yang berharga seperti emas dan perak sehingga membolehkan wang dicetak melebihi dari nilai yang sepatutnya dengan hanya bersandarkan pada keyakinan (fiat money). Bukan sahaja wang yang digunakan ketika ini tidak disandarkan pada sebarang komoditi yang berharga, malah KDNK dan percetakan wang berdiri secara independen sehingga membolehkan wujudnya senario dimana KDNK negara mengucup tetapi percetakan wang meningkat dengan banyak. Kerapuhan sistem kewangan ini malah diletakkan dalam keadaan yang sangat berisiko untuk menjadi lupuk kepada pedagang mawatang asing untuk mengaut keuntugan atas angin sehingga boleh meruntuhkan ekonomi sesebuah negara seperti yang telah berlaku semasa krisis kewangan Asia tahun 1997/98.

Selain itu, penjanaan hutang berasarkan riba yang dihasilkan oleh industri kewangan menambahkan lagi kepesatan perkembagan virtual ekonomi. Senario ini terjadi dengan penghasilan wang berdasarkan hutang dan riba yang dihasilkan oleh sistem perbankan seperti fractional reserve banking oleh industri kewangan seperti bank. Senario ini menyebabkan wang dalam bentuk hutang yang beredar dalam putaran ekonomi jauh lebih banyak daripada nilai wang yang sebenar.

Saiz virtual ekonomi yang merupakan kaedah yang sangat penting dalam mengembangkan ekonomi dalam sistem kapitalis mewakili saiz ekonomi yang jauh lebih besar daripada saiz ekonomi sebenar. Senario ini menyebabkan ekonomi dunia ketika ini sering terdedah kepada pelbagai masalah ekonomi seperti inflasi dan kegawatan ekonomi, kerana ianya merupakan masalah yang terhasil secara sistemik dengan sistem ekonomi kapitalis. Inflasi dan kegawatan ekonomi adalah masalah ekonomi yang menjadi sebahagian daripada pelengkap semulajadi dalam sistem kapitalis yang tidak dapat dipisahkan.

Hakikatnya keadaan ekonomi dunia kapitalis ketika ini adalah ibarat seseorang yang menghidap pelbagai jenis penyakit dan bergantung dengan rawatan dan ubat-ubatan untuk meneruskan hidup. Pada tahun 1997/98 disahkan menghidap penyakit kencing manis, maka perlu mengambil ubat kencing manis. Kemudiannya tahun 2008 pula, disahkan menghidap penyakit darah tinggi dan kolestrol. Seterusnya, pada tahun 2020 buah pinggang akhirnya rosak akibat hidup yang banyak bergantung dengan ubat-ubatan. Maka, selain perlu untuk terus mengambil ubat-ubatan akibat penyakit sebelum ini, kominten bertambah lagi dengan perlu pula menjalani dialysis secara berkala.  

Walaupun masih dapat meneruskan hidup dengan kesungguhan menjalani rawatan dan mengambil pelbagai jenis ubat-ubatan yang menuntut komitmen yang  tinggi dari segi masa, tenaga dan wang ringgit, kenyataannya daya tahan badan sudah semakin lemah dan keupayaan badan semakin berkurangan untuk melakukan kerja-kerja seperti ketika masih sihat. Keadaan ini tentu sahaja sangat berpotensi untuk dijangkiti dengan virus yang boleh membawa maut seperti virus COVID-19. Begitulah perumpamaan sistem ekonomi kapitalis ketika ini. 

Oleh itu, selagi sistem ekonomi kapitalis yang tidak dapat dipisahkan dengan virtual ekonomi terus menjadi sebahagian daripada cara ekonomi diuruskan dan dikembangkan, maka jangan berharap sama sekali bahawa ekonomi akan dapat dipulihkan dan seterusnya memberikan kesejahteraan hidup pada rakyat. Jika ekonomi kelihatannya berjaya dipulihkan dengan bermacam-macam pakej rangsangan ekonomi, hakikatnya ianya hanyalah salah satu ubat-ubatan untuk merawat ekonomi agar dapat terus survive dalam keadaan sangat bergantung pada ubat-ubatan dan daya tahan yang semakin lemah.

Kesimpulannya, untuk membentuk daya tahan ekonomi yang mampan dan berdaya saing, virtual economi mesti dihapuskan. Ekonomi yang mampan dan berdaya saing serta mempunyai daya tahan yang kuat dalam erti kata yang sebenar adalah ekonomi yang berkembang berdasarkan aktiviti real economy semata-mata. Sistem ekonomi kapitalis tidak dapat hidup tanpa adanya virtual ekonomi, sebaliknya sistem ekonomi Islam mencegah dengan tegas sebarang bentuk aktiviti atau urusniaga yang menjurus kepada wujudnya virtual ekonomi. Mencegah kewujudan virtual ekonomi dalam sistem ekonomi Islam berlaku secara sistemik dengan cara; pertama, mengharamkan muamalah yang tidak berdasarkan syirkah yang dibenarkan oleh hukum syarak. Kedua, matawang disandarkan pada komoditi yang berharga seperti emas dan perak. Ketiga, mengharamkan riba. Untuk melaksanakan tiga perkara tersebut ianya memerlukan institusi pemerintahan yang hanya berhukum berlandaskan kepada Al-Quran dan As-Sunnah iaitu sistem pemerintahan Khilafah.

The Cycle of Wealth

In the Islamic economic system, the cycle of wealth is one of the most important elements in order  to simulate the economy in a productive way. Hoarding (Kanzul Mal) is an activity that is prohibited in Islam. Hoarding is defined as an activity of accumulating wealth without any specific purpose except but to accumulate wealth. From the economic perspective, hoarding is taking out wealth (money) from the market and causes economic activity to be disturbed or to slow down. Hoarding is different from saving. Saving is to save some amount of money to be spent for a specific purpose such as to build a house, for marriage, to finance the children’s education etc. The hukm of saving is mubah. Money saved will finally be spent in the economic cycle. At the same time, Islam allows saving in order to guarantee living needs (Nafkah) for one year.  The state must provide the guidelines on the amount of saving that is allowed for an individual to save based on their responsibilities and needs.

Islam teaches the ummah that whomever that has been granted by Allah SWT with wealth which is more than what he needs has to fulfill his own nafkah and that of the people under his responsibility. Two activities can be done - first, making investment in business, and secondly carry out amal jariah with sadaqah (voluntary charity). Both activities will ensure the wealth is always circulated in the economic cycle. The state has the authority to take over the wealth which is more than enough (a necessary amount of saving) to fulfill the nafkah in one year. This rule is to ensure that the wealth is always circulated in the economy whether through investment or spending through sadaqah.

The wealth can be invested through muamalat contracts according to Islamic teaching into halal and good sectors such as trading, industry, agriculture, services etc. which will create a productive economic cycle, based on the fact that in this way, wealth is always circulated in the economic cycle. Muamalat contracts in Islam implicitly manifest the rights and the responsibilities of those involved in the syirkah (investor and manager), making those involved in the syirkah play their roles productively. This method always encourage people to be productive in expanding their wealth which will directly stimulate the cycle of economy actively. This will consequently lead to encouraging innovations in business, creation of new products and consequently create jobs.

The political economy in Islam is very different from the political economy in capitalism, which is employed by our government today. In today’s economic system, to start or to expand a business, we are encouraged and driven by the debt industry which is based on riba (interest). At the same time, there is no rule to prevent the wealth from being taken out of the economic system, where anyone is free to slow down the economic cycle by hoarding. Hoarding from the economic perspective is a bad activity that can affect the economic cycle negatively. Spiritually, hoarding produces greedy people with the wealth of this temporary life to the point that they forget that all the wealth in this world will be useless when death comes.

Those who are not interested invest their wealth or have extra wealth after making investments, they can spend their wealth through sadaqah (voluntary charity). Islam encourages its ummah to do sadaqah and promises great rewards. Sadaqah to the poor, orphans, young people who wish to get married but don’t have enough money and other recipients, including wakaf, opens doors of righteousness. Sadaqah will not only help the needy but will also indirectly circulate wealth productively in the economy. MasyaAllah, this is the greatness of the political economy of the Islamic ruling system. It creates the true well being in this world and more importantly it teaches Muslims to prepare for akhirah (Hereafter).

If we relate to the current effort taken by the government to recover the economic situation affected by COVID-19, it can be concluded that it does not ensure the circulation of wealth manifested by the Islamic economy system. Instead, it is only an effort hoped to ensure that the Malaysian economy survives and recovers the shock due to COVID-19. And after all that, the economy will still be run by capitalism.

Putaran Kekayaan

Dalam sistem ekonomi Islam, putaran kekayaan merupakan elemen yang sangat penting untuk mengerakkan ekonomi secara produktif. Menimbunkan harta (Kanzul Mal) merupakan perkara yang diharamkan. Menimbunkan harta bermaksud mengumpul kekayaan tanpa ada tujuan yang khusus melainkan hanya untuk mengumpulkan kekayaan. Dari segi ekonomi, Kanzul Mal membawa maksud menarik kekayaan (wang) dari dalam pasaran, yang menyebabkan aktiviti ekonomi terganggu atau menjadi perlahan. Kanzul Mal berbeza dengan menabung, menabung bererti menyimpan harta atau duit untuk tujuan dibelanjakan pada tujuan yang tertentu seperti ingin membina rumah, menikah, membiayai pengajian anak-anak dan seumpamanya, hukumnya adalah mubah. Hasil tabungan akhirnya akan dibelanjakan semula dalam ekonomi. Pada masa yang sama Islam membenarkan untuk membuat simpanan atau tabungan bagi menjamin keperluan kehidupan (Nafkah) selama setahun. Negara sudah tentu perlu mengariskan jumlah harta yang wajar untuk disimpan oleh setiap individu yang tentu sahaja berbeza-beza tanggungjawab dan keperluannya.

Islam menggariskan, bagi mereka yang dikurniakan oleh Allah SWT dengan harta yang melebihi daripada keperluan untuk memenuhi nafkah dirinya dan orang-orang lain yang berada dibawah tanggungjawabnya maka dia boleh melakukan dua perkara. Pertama, membuat pelaburan dalam perniagaan atau yang kedua membuat amal jariah dengan bersedekah. Kedua-dua cara ini akan memastikan kekayaan akan sentiasa berputar dalam kitaran ekonomi. Negara berhak untuk merampas harta mereka yang melebihi daripada jumlah yang wajar untuk disimpan bagi memenuhi nafkah selama setahun. Peraturan ini secara langgsung akan memastikan harta akan sentiasa diputarkan dalam ekonomi samada dengan cara dilaburkan atau disedekahkan.

Harta yang dilaburkan berdasarkan akad muamalah yang telah ditetapkan oleh Islam kedalam sektor-sektor perniagaan yang halal dan baik seperti perindustrian, perdagangan, pertanian, perkhidmatan dan sebagainya akan menghasilkan rantaian ekonomi yang produktif. Ini kerana kekayaan sentiasa berputar secara produktif dalam rantaian ekonomi. Akad muamalah yang ditetapkan oleh Islam mengariskan peranan dan tanggungjawab setiap individu yang terlibat dalam muamalah yang dijalankan sehingga masing-masing (pemberi modal dan pengusaha) berperanan secara aktif dalam perniagaan yang dijalankan. Kaedah ini mendorong umat Islam untuk sentiasa bersifat produktif dalam mengembangkan kekayaan yang secara langsung akan merancakkan putaran ekonomi, menggalakkan inovasi perniagaan, menggalakkan penghasilan produk-produk baru dan tentu sahaja akan membuka banyak peluang pekerjaan. Kaedah ekonomi ini berbeza sama sekali dengan pengurusan ekonomi (politik ekonomi) dalam sistem kapitalis yang diamalkan di negara kita ketika ini. Dorongan untuk memulakan perniagaan dan mengembangkan perniagaan adalah dengan industri hutang berasaskan riba. Pada masa yang sama, tiada peraturan untuk menghalang agar kekayaan dikeluarkan dari putaran ekonomi, sehingga mana-mana individu bebas untuk memperlahankan putaran ekonomi dengan tabiat menimbunkan harta (Kanzul Mal). Satu tabiat yang dari segi ekonominya akan merosakkan putaran ekonomi dan satu tabiat yang tidak produktif. Manakala dari segi roh keislaman, tabiat sedemikian menghasilkan manusia-manusia yang tamak dengan kekayaan dunia, leka dengan kekayaan yang dikumpulkan, yang pada hakikatnya harta-harta tersebut akan ditinggalkan apabila maut datang menjemput.

Bagi yang tidak berminat melaburkan lebihan kekayaan yang dimiliki atau selepas membuat pelaburan masih terdapat lebihan, maka bersedekah atau menginfakkan harta tersebut merupakan pilihan yang sangat baik. Satu amalan yang sangat dianjurkan oleh ajaran Islam dan dijanjikan dengan ganjaran pahala yang sangat banyak. Bersedekah terhadap golongan fakir miskin, anak-anak yatim, pemuda-pemudi yang ingin bernikah tapi tidak mempunyai kemampuan, dan banyak lagi pintu-pintu kebaikan termasuklah berwakaf. Ianya bukan sahaja dapat melapangkan kesusahan mereka yang memerlukan malah secara tidak langsung harta-harta tersebut dapat dipusingkan secara produktif dalam ekonomi. Masyaallah, begitulah keunggulan politik ekonomi dalam sistem pemerintahan Islam, menghasilkan kesejahteraan yang hakiki di dunia dan yang paling penting ianya menyiapkan umatnya untuk mengumpul amal kebaikan untuk dibawa ke alam akhirat.

Jika dikaitkan dengan usaha-usaha pemulihan ekonomi yang sedang dilakukan oleh pihak kerajaan kesan daripada impak COVID-19, dapat dirumuskan bahawa ianya tidak menjurus kepada usaha memastikan kekayaan dapat diputarkan dalam ekonomi seperti mana pengurusan ekonomi Islam (politik ekonomi Islam). Tetapi ianya lebih kepada usaha untuk survive agar ekonomi dapat kembali pulih dan dapat dikembangkan semula berdasarkan pengurusan ekonomi kapitalis.

Resiliency of Malaysian Economy: External Factors

The impact of COVID-19 is a significant test on the resiliency of economy for all countries including Malaysia. Early indicator that can be used to diagnose the effect of COVID-19 towards Malaysian economy is by looking at the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Recently, World Bank has predicted that GDP for Malaysia in 2020 will sink to 0.1% as compared to early prediction of 4.5 percent. The GDP drop at 1% indicate that the size of Malaysia economic reduce at rate 0.1%.

In the early stage, the drop was driven by the external factors especially by the decision of China government to implement lockdown to stop the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak inside their own country. This has directly given negative impact towards few important industries in Malaysia such as tourism and hospitality, manufacturing as well as transportation industry as these industries are among the prominent contributors toward GDP of this country. As we know, year 2020 is targeted as Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) to catalyst the economy growth of Malaysia and tourism industry is one of the major contributors.

China is not only one of the biggest Malaysia trade partners, but China people is also the main target (4 million visitors) to support the predicted RM100 billion revenue from the Visit Malaysia Year 2020.  Slowdown in global economic that has already occurred because of the trade war between US and China even before the outbreak of COVID-19, has further contributed to the negative growth of this country.

Economic growth is an important indicator to attract the foreign direct investment (FDI) flows.  As a country that employed open economic, Malaysia is very dependent on the FDI to drive the economic growth. The confidence of investors to bring the FDI into this country can be achieve through the positive prospect of economic growth. This shows that Malaysia GDP depends and are influenced by the external factors. Even though the government has implemented good strategy to drive the economic growth, but it is not resilient enough to withstand the impact of the external factors that can lead to the slowdown of the country’s economic growth.

As a conclusion, this shows that the external events, such as the current impact of COVID-19 outbreak, can influence Malaysian economic because it is not resilient from the external factors.

Daya Tahan Ekonomi Malaysia: Faktor Luaran

Daya Tahan Ekonomi Malaysia: Faktor Luaran

Impak COVID-19 merupakan satu ujian yang sangat signifikan bagi menguji daya tahan ekonomi seluruh negara di dunia ketika ini termasuklah Malaysia. Petunjuk awal yang boleh digunakan untuk mendiagnos daya tahan tersebut ialah dengan melihat pada kesannya terhadap KDNK negara. Baru-baru ini Bank Dunia menjangkakan KDNK Malaysia pada tahun 2020 akan mengucup pada kadar – 0.1% berbanding sasaran pertumbuhan 4.5 peratus sebelum ini, pengucupan 1%  membawa maksud saiz ekonomi Malaysia akan mengecil pada kadar 0.1% kesan daripada COVID-19.

Pada peringkat awal, pengucupan ini tentu sahaja didorong oleh faktor luaran khususnya langkah lockdown yang diambil oleh kerajaan China dalam membendung penularan wabak COVID-19 di negara mereka. Langkah tersebut secara langsung menjejaskan industri penting seperti pelancongan dan perhotelan, pembuatan serta pengangkutan. Industri-industri tersebut merupakan antara penyumbang yang besar terhadap KDNK negara. Tahun 2020 telah disasarkan sebagai  Tahun Melawat Malaysia (TM 2020) agar dapat menjadi pemangkin kepada pertumbuhan ekonomi, khususnya bagi industri pelancongan. China bukan sahaja merupakan antara rakan dagang terbesar bagi Malaysia tetapi juga rakyat China merupakan sasaran utama (jangkaan 4 juta) untuk menjayakan sasaran penjanaan pendapatan sebanyak RM100 bilion daripada Tahun Melawat Malaysia 2020.          

Kelembapan ekonomi global yang sememangnya telah terjadi sebelum wabak COVID-19 tercetus akibat daripada perang dagang antara US dan China juga sedikit sebanyak telah memberi kesan pada pertumbuhan ekonomi negara. Pertumbuhan ekonomi merupakan petunjuk yang sangat penting bagi menarik masuk pelaburan langsung asing (FDI) ke dalam negara. Sebagai sebuah negara yang yang mengamalkan dasar ekonomi terbuka, Malaysia sangat bergantung pada FDI untuk memacu pertumbuhan ekonomi. Keyakinan para pelabur untuk membawa FDI ke negara ini dapat ditingkatkan dengan petunjuk prospek pertumbuhan ekonomi yang positif.

Ini menunjukkan bahawa KDNK Malaysia sangat bergantung dan dipengaruhi oleh faktor luaran. Sebaik mana strategi ekonomi yang dilakukan oleh kerajaan dalam usaha memacu pertumbuhan ekonomi, ianya tidak akan mampu bertahan daripada kesan-kesan luaran yang mendorong kepada pengucupan pertumbuhan. Kesimpulannya wabak COVID-19 menunjukkan bahawa ekonomi Malaysia tidak mempunyai daya tahan yang kuat terhadap faktor-faktor luaran.

Tafsir Surah Al-Fatihah (Pengenalan)

1. Menurut riwayat surah Al-Fatihah merupakan surah ke lima yang diturunkan selepas surah Al-'Alaq, Al-Qalam, Al Mudaddsir dan Al-Muzzammil . Namun ada perbezaan pendapat dikalangan ulamak tentang surah Al-Qalam, Al Mudaddsir dan Al-Muzzammil, tentang surah mana yang turun terlebih dahulu, tiada berbezaan bahawa surah Al-'Alaq ada surah yang pertama diturunkan dan surah Al-Fatihah  adalah surah yang ke lima. Berbeza dengan 4 surah yang awal,ayat-ayat dalam surah tersebut diturunkan dalam waktu yang berbeza, tetapi surah Al-Fatihah diturunkan secara lengkap dalam satu masa dari ayat pertama hingga ayat yang terakhir.

2. Namu terdepat juga berbezaan pendapat dikalangan mufassirin tentang ayat Basmallah                بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ   adakah ianya sebahagian dari surah Al-Fatihah atau ianya hanya sebagai permulaan sesuatu surah seperti surah-surah yang lain. Kebanyakkan mufassirin berpendapat bahawa ayat بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ   bukan sebahagian dari surah Al-Fatihah, tetapi ianya adalah ayat yang terdapat dalam Al-Quran, ditulis dalam surat yang dikirim oleh Nabi Sulaiman kepada Ratu Saba’ dan ada hadis nabi yang menyebutkan bahawa tidak sempurna sesuatu perbuatan tanpa di mulakan dengan ayat   بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ. Bagi yang menerima Basmallah adalah sebahagian dari surah Al-Fatihah, maka imam akan membacanya dengan dengan suara yang kuat beserta dengan surah Al-Fatihah, bagi yang berpegang Basmallah bukan sebahagian dari surah Al-Fatihah maka mereka membacanya secara perlahan.

3. Surah AL-Fatihah bermaksud pembukaan kepada kitab sebab itu diletakkan dihadapan sekali sebagai pembukaan kepada Al-Quran. Dalam surah Al-Fatihah terdapat satu permintaan yang besar/doa yang kita minta daripada Allah SWT  اهدِنَا الصِّراطَ المُستَقيمَ  “Tunjukilah kami jalan yang lurus”. Allah terus menjawab dalam surah Al-Baqarah, Al-Quran adalah petunjuk

ذٰلِكَ الكِتابُ لا رَيبَ ۛ فيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِلمُتَّقينَ  “Kitab Al-Quran ini, tidak ada sebarang syak padanya (tentang datangnya dari Allah dan tentang sempurnanya); ia pula menjadi petunjuk bagi orang-orang yang (hendak) bertaqwa”.

4. Terdapat hadis yang menerangkan bahawa Allah SWT menerangkan surah AL-Fatihah dalam tiga bahagian. Bahagian pertama, tentang mengenali Allah SWT, ayat

الحَمدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ العالَمينَ

Segala puji tertentu bagi Allah, Tuhan yang Memelihara dan Mentadbirkan sekalian alam

الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

Yang Maha Pemurah, lagi Maha Mengasihani

مالِكِ يَومِ الدّينِ

Yang Menguasai pemerintahan hari Pembalasan (hari akhirat)

menerangkan tentang Allah SWT iaitu aqidah yang menjadi asas kepada keimanan atau kepercayaan. Bahagian kedua tentang pengakuan tentang kita akan menyembah Allah SWT

إِيّاكَ نَعبُدُ وَإِيّاكَ نَستَعينُ

Engkaulah sahaja (Ya Allah) Yang Kami sembah dan kepada Engkaulah sahaja kami memohon pertolongan.

Selepas kita mengakui bahawa Allah SWT adalah tuhan kita, kemudian kita mengakui untuk menyembah Allah SWT dan mohon pertolongan daripadanNya. Bahagian yang ketiga

اهدِنَا الصِّراطَ المُستَقيمَ

Tunjukilah kami jalan yang lurus.

Kita meminta petunjuk daripada Allah SWT. Berdasarkan hadis daripada Rasulullah SAW, setiap kali kita membaca bahagian pertama, Allah menyatakan hambanya memujiNYA, hambaNYA, menggenaliNYA, hambaNYA bersyukur padaNYA. Kemudian bahagian kedua, Allah menyatakan hambaNYA komited untuk menyembahNYA, hambaNYA mengiktiraf untuk menyembahNya.

Apabila kita membaca اهدِنَا الصِّراطَ المُستَقيمَ, Allah menyatakan hambaNYA meminta dariNYA petunjuk dan pertolongan. Ini merupakan hak kepada Allah untuk memenuhi janjiNYA.

Umat Islam membaca surah Al-Fatihah 17 kali minimum sehari semasa menunaikan solat wajib. Jika ditambah dengan menunaikan solat-solat sunat, sudah pasti bilanganya jauh lebih banyak. Jadi kita perlu memahami maksud dan implikasi surah Al-Fatihah yang kita baca. Maka, apabila kita membaca surah Al-Fatihah dengan memahami maksudnya dan mengaitknya dengan diri kita semasa kita membacanya, maka kita akan faham banyak perkara tentang Islam, banyak petunjuk yang kita perolehi daripada surah Al-Fatihah. Membaca surah Al-Fatihah dengan memahami maksudnya dan dapat mengaitkan apa yang diterangkan dalam surah Al-Fatihah dengan kehidupan kita, tentu ianya akan memberikan pemahaman yang baik kepada kita mengenai Islam dan erti keimanan kita pada Allah SWT.  Wallahu a’lam.