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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impacts of stock market and banking sectors development on a country’s efficiency in transforming its innovation input into output.

This study employs a generalized method-of-moments panel estimator to examine the role of stock market and banking development in influencing innovation efficiency.

Findings show that a country’s stock market development is positively related to its innovation efficiency ratio. Countries with more developed stock markets have relatively higher efficiency in transforming innovation input into innovation output than those with less developed stock markets. There is no evidence that innovation efficiency is influenced by banking sector development. However, when stock market and banking sectors are modeled together, while stock market development retains its positive influence, the findings indicate that banking sector exerts negative impact on innovation efficiency.

The findings provide useful insights to guide policy decisions for a country’s innovation agenda in enhancing its innovation performance. The findings imply that stock market development should be embraced as one of the key policy areas in order for a country to be more efficient in transforming its innovation input into innovation output.

This paper provides first evidence using data sourced from Global Innovation Index report, first available in 2007 and published by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The primary objective of the paper is to examine the short and long run price linkages between Malaysian unit trust funds and the stock market index as proxied by the Kuala Lumpur composite index (KLCI) over the period 1996‐2000.

Cointegration analyses are used to identify the long run relationship between unit trust funds and the stock market index while Granger causality tests are used to measure the short run price linkages.

Cointegration results show that the long run pricing performance of the unit trust funds differs significantly from that of the KLCI. Interestingly, the findings also reveal that two index funds are found not to be cointegrated with the stock market index. In the short run, one‐way Granger causality test shows that changes in the KLCI Granger causes changes in the unit trust funds. This suggests that fund managers are responding to the past changes in the stock market index over the short run.

The findings of non‐cointegration between passively managed funds and the KLCI are restricted to only two index funds in the sample among other actively managed funds. Since there were not enough index funds available over the study period, future research should include more index funds in the analysis.

In the short run, investors may gather information on the changes in their portfolio composition by observing the movement in the KLCI.

The paper represents the first evidence on the pricing relationships between unit trust funds and the local stock market index and the findings are important to investors in terms of their investment strategies.

The Asian crisis, which exploded in Thailand in July 1997 initially, spilled to the other ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines) and later it spreads to Korea and even crossing the continent to Russia and Brazil. The chronological pattern seems to indicate the contagious behaviour of the crisis. However, the sequential economic down‐turns that occurred in the Asia Pacific do look like a contagion effect. The idea that currency speculators contributed to the depth of the crisis is agreeable but to conclude that they are the roots of the problem would be misleading. This paper argued that the roots of the problems lie in current account deficit and loss of competitiveness, and moral hazard and over‐investment This paper also argued that the currency crisis is a symptom and not the cause of the Asian crisis.

The purpose of this paper is to find applicable Islamic pricing benchmarks (IPBs) instead of the market interest rates which are currently used in Islamic finance as benchmark.

The suggested model (Islamic pricing benchmark model (IPBM)) obviously reveals the feasibility and practical effectiveness of a substitute to London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and as an evaluator tool to suggested investment projects. The model is a suggested mechanism which could be used as an alternative choice to the conventional borrowing based on the forbidden Riba or on interest. The suggested IPBM depends on estimating the rate of return for any project on consideration of the cash flows in future which is expected to be relative to the invested capital.

The IPBM approach might be applied to financial tools, where the fund owner bears the loss since it is not because of negligence. An instrument to help identify the investment for target rates of return (as an alternative choice to LIBOR) to identify a breakeven point based on expected cash flows for the project to be financed instead of based on seeking the indicators of interest or Riba (as LIBOR). This feature of the IPBM model as an Islamic benchmark renders it as a Shariah pricing mechanism for the Islamic financial products.

The IPBM could be used as a financial instrument to assist in identifying the investment for the target return rates to determine a breakeven point based on expected cash flows for the project to be funded instead of being based on seeking the interest indicators or Riba (as LIBOR). This feature as an Islamic benchmark is considered as a Shariah pricing mechanism for the Islamic financial products. In particular, the proposed model incorporates the Shariah parameters. In that, it is hoped that the Islamic financial instruments will be more comprehensive in their Shariah compliance and thereby may bring more credibility to the Islamic financial system in general.

This paper highlights several important issues related to the IPBMs in Islamic financial institutions which are not widely discussed among researchers. This study contributes to finding an alternative IPB for the Islamic financial products which is currently using the conventional interest rate (LIBOR) as its benchmark. The current study provides empirical evidence for the possibility of relying on the IPBM as an Islamic benchmark to price Islamic financial transactions.

Facilities management plays a significant role in the housing industry to support human daily routine and enhancing the productivity of the activities in and around the residential. Nonetheless, facilities management has not been readily encouraged or adopted by the Government in Malaysia in any structured way. The maintenance approaches adopted are mostly corrective which resulting poor service delivery, poor user satisfaction and endless maintenance backlogs. Thus, this paper aims to review the implementation of preventive maintenance and importance of routine maintenance frequency for the building facilities and services in high-rise residential buildings.

An extensive literature review published in between 1987 to 2016 has been carried out on the implementation of preventive maintenance strategy specifically routine maintenance. The building facilities and services which are divided into essential and value-added were identified and tabulated systematically to further form a theoretical framework to demonstrate the association between routine maintenance of building facilities and services and maintenance outcome.

The findings of the study argued that the routine maintenance might affect the maintenance performance. Future research is proposed to investigate the optimal frequency of routine maintenance to enhance maintenance performance.

This study identified the importance of routine maintenance by providing the classification of facilities and services, which fundamentally support future research to improve the maintenance management of high-rise residential building.

The purpose of this paper is to implement the istibdal waqf concept using a geographical information system (GIS) for the benefit of socio-economics and Muslim cemetery waqf management. GIS is a technique that provides clearer, precise and faster access to a location based on actual space data. It attempts to analyze the area that one wishes to develop to establish whether it fulfills the criteria set for istibdal.

This research was conducted qualitatively. The study begins with the development of the concept of istibdal waqf and the concept of GIS. The concept was developed by conducting a literature review of books, articles, newspapers, fatwa and circulars related to istibdal waqf and GIS. After the concept was formed, field studies were conducted on two mosques, namely, Jamek Jelutong Mosque and Masjid Jamek Sungai Nibong because both mosques have gravesites located within their compound. To obtain information on the problems faced by the mosques Jemaah community, researchers have interviewed the Mosque Committee Members and Jemaah Community in both mosques using the unstructured interviewing method. This process is essential in managing both material and spiritual for sustaining socio-economics of the society.

The results showed that by applying GIS technique could identify new land locations according to the criteria set by istibdal. Additionally, new location environments found through the GIS application can be viewed more clearly and accurately than using the manual method. The findings also revealed that some of the mosque managers and the heirs of the waqf grave land were not open-minded in accepting the istibdal concept of the grave that had been allowed by the Syarak until the process of expanding the mosque was affected. The study also found that the maslahah consideration was considered between doing istibdal waqf and not doing istibdal waqf, the maslahah of doing istibdal waqf is greater because general (umum) maslahah should be prioritized compared to the special (khusus) maslahah. In addition, this effort can appreciate the morality and ethics of waqf donors to donate their wealth or properties for benefit of society.

This study only focuses on Muslim cemetery waqf in Penang Island.

This study is expected to benefit both material and spiritual where Muslim cemetery site can be developed for expanding mosque site and consequently able to accommodate the increasing of Muslim using the mosque.

This study proposes the transformation of the concept of istibdal waqf from the traditional methods to modern and advanced methods using the GIS application. The study also demonstrates how the software for solving the real problem can be used, i.e. the problem of a limited mosque space for sharing space with a cemetery in Penang.

Rapid tooling (RT) integrated with additive manufacturing technologies have been implemented in various sectors of the RT industry in recent years with various kinds of prototype applications, especially in the development of new products. The purpose of this study is to analyze the current application trends of RT techniques in producing hybrid mold inserts.

The direct and indirect RT techniques discussed in this paper are aimed at developing a hybrid mold insert using metal epoxy composite (MEC) in increasing the speed of tooling development and performance. An extensive review of the suitable development approach of hybrid mold inserts, material preparation and filler effect on physical and mechanical properties has been conducted.

Latest research studies indicate that it is possible to develop a hybrid material through the combination of different shapes/sizes of filler particles and it is expected to improve the compressive strength, thermal conductivity and consequently increasing the hybrid mold performance (cooling time and a number of molding cycles).

The number of research studies on RT for hybrid mold inserts is still lacking as compared to research studies on conventional manufacturing technology. One of the significant limitations is on the ways to improve physical and mechanical properties due to the limited type, size and shape of materials that are currently available.

This review presents the related information and highlights the current gaps related to this field of study. In addition, it appraises the new formulation of MEC materials for the hybrid mold inserts in injection molding application and RT for non-metal products.