Zakat is intended to stimulate economic development, education, social, human resources empowerment, religion health, and insurance programs. The seven programs above are implemented by the Malaysian government to improve economic growth. The aim of the study is to examine the impact zakat on human development program in Malaysia using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bound testing approach. The analysis was carried out for the period from 1980–2009. The finding of the research reveals that zakat has a positive and significant influence on human development in five state in the short and long run. Zakat in Malaysia can be used as tool of fiscal policy that is decided in the states of Malaysia to stimulate human development and economic growth in the long run. Keyword: Zakat, Human Development, Granger causality test

This paper attempts to examine the role of zakat administration policy in Malaysia and its impact on the tax revenue in

The National Security Council of Malaysia has declared the east coast of Sabah as the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZONE) to inhibit security threats and enhance security in the east coast of Sabah. This study employed an in-depth interview with the stakeholders involved in security governance and development in the study area. The selection of stakeholders was based on expert sampling. Secondary data relating to maritime economic activities were also used to reinforce the findings of the in-depth interview. The study areas were Tawau (Sabah) and Sebatik Island. Sebatik Island is divided into two regions; the northern region is owned by Malaysia and the south is owned by Indonesia. This paper examined the impact of ESSZONE’s security policy toward economic activities in Tawau and Sebatik Island. The security policy implemented by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) in Sabah’s east coast has a negative impact on maritime economic activities in Tawau and Pulau Sebatik. Therefore, the government must re-evaluate the security measures in Tawau and Pulau Sebatik waters, and the curfew regulations in particular, because the security threat is lower and more manageable than in Sandakan, Tawau, Kunak, Lahad Datu, Semporna, and Kinabatangan, which form the hot spot area. Furthermore, the government should consider appropriate measures to balance the objectives of security and economic interests, depending on the level of security threat zones.

Towns along the Malaysia-Thailand border have always been associated with backwardness and being low-income regions. This is mainly because policy development in these border regions is based more on defence and security rather than economic considerations. Economic structures and cross-border trade towns of Sg. Kolok (Narathiwat, Southern Thailand) and Rantau Panjang (Kelantan, Malaysia) were examined with the objective to measure cross-border economic activity and the feasibility of establishing a Cross Border Special Economic Zone. Both towns are a shopping haven among local and foreign tourists, and have the potential to become a leading cross-border tourism product of the Malaysia-Thailand border. The Malaysian government has also implemented the Eastern Corridor Economic Region to develop the East Coast region including Kelantan. Meanwhile, the Thailand Government has carried out the Southern Border Provinces Special Zone to develop its Southern region, including Narathiwat. With the security assurance in Southern Thailand coupled with both development plans being implemented, this may intensify economic activities in the towns of Rantau Panjang and Sg. Kolok. It was revealed that this has a spill-over effect in the border areas and the potential of creating a Cross Border Special Economic Zone at these border towns.

The National Security Council of Malaysia has declared the east coast of Sabah as the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZONE) to inhibit security threats and enhance security in the east coast of Sabah. This study employed an in-depth interview with the stakeholders involved in security governance and development in the study area. The selection of stakeholders was based on expert sampling. Secondary data relating to maritime economic activities were also used to reinforce the findings of the in-depth interview. The study areas were Tawau (Sabah) and Sebatik Island. Sebatik Island is divided into two regions; the northern region is owned by Malaysia and the south is owned by Indonesia. This paper examined the impact of ESSZONE's security policy toward economic activities in Tawau and Sebatik Island. The security policy implemented by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) in Sabah's east coast has a negative impact on maritime economic activities in Tawau and Pulau Sebatik. Therefore, the government must re-evaluate the security measures in Tawau and Pulau Sebatik waters, and the curfew regulations in particular, because the security threat is lower and more manageable than in Sandakan, Tawau, Kunak, Lahad Datu, Semporna, and Kinabatangan, which form the hot spot area. Furthermore, the government should consider appropriate measures to balance the objectives of security and economic interests, depending on the level of security threat zones.