ANIS -TESSHI2021 E-PROCEEDINGS (1)

is in line with the findings from García-Peñalvo et al. (2014), who concluded that cloud computing
technology could reduce costs, remain competitive, and meet users’ needs. The same result was
found by Guimaraes & Paranjape (2014), who claimed that cloud computing contributes to providing
flexible, rapid, and less expensive digital systems for organizations. The features of StALIC, which
are cost and time saving, user-friendly and fast processing, drive the high satisfaction level among
users. These findings will continue with the upcoming innovation project initiated by these findings
for other innovation projects such as ReRS, AKLiMA, and SPARK, which adhere to the importance
of cloud and seamless technology into the current HL operation before the pandemic requirements.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

StALIC project is an innovation project initiated by the innovation group of MIM UiTM Pahang.
The project (StALIC) has been registered as intellectual property rights by the MyIPO with the
registration number LY2020002591.

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relationship between co-creation activities and the outcomes of value co-creation remain unclear
(Busser & Shulga, 2018).

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of the study can be divided into two aspects that is theoretical and practical
significance. For the theoretical significance, this study will add to the literature of the subject area
namely servicescape and value co-creation behavior especially in hotel industry towards the
Service Dominant Logic (SDL) theory.

Meanwhile for the practical significance, it will add value to the management of the hotel
whereby this can be one of the mechanisms for hotel to promote their products and services
through their hotel guest. They will promote and spread good word of mouth to family and friends.
Besides that, the study will support the effort of Ministry of Tourism and Heritage of promoting and
boosting local tourism to the local tourist during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the announcement
of the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) made by the Government on 10 June 2020
came as a huge relief for the industry and local tourist travel accordingly (Tourism Malaysia, 2020).
The study will shed lights on getting the information on whether Malaysian travel locally and their
behavior on co-creating with the hotel industry. In addition, the study is in-line with Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG). Goal number 8 highlighted on promoting sustained, inclusive, and
sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. Target 8.9
stated that by 2030, policies and devise will be implemented to promote sustainable tourism that
creates jobs and promotes local culture and products (Department of Statistic Malaysia, 2021).
This study will focus on local hotel guests that experienced servicescape at the luxury hotel in
Malaysia.

LITERATURE REVIEW

SERVICESCAPE

Originally, servicescape is to describe the physical surroundings where business deliver
services to their customers (Bitner, 1992). In addition, servicescape refers to the comprehensive
physical environment perceived by users, and it comprised of physical elements such as facilities,
interior, arrangements, furniture, signs, temperature, noise, and cleanliness. Furthermore,
servicescape includes the communication elements, such as politeness, concern and culture
delivery (Durna et al., 2015). With the latest trend of digitalization in service, hotel servicescape
need to be highlighted and taken care by the management of the hotel to ensure customer will
later satisfy and lead to value co-create behavior.

Servicescapes is being highlighted in other study such as hotel servicescape (Li & Wei,
2021; Lockwood & Pyun, 2018), M-servicescape (Lee, 2018), e-servicescape (Harris & Goode,
2010; Sanjit Kumar Roy et al., 2016), online servicescape (Harris & Goode, 2010) and smart
servicesape (Sanjit K. Roy et al., 2019). According to Lockwood & Pyun (2018), there are limited
studies on servicescape in hotels. Previous study on hotel servicescape focus on the effects of
hotel servicescape towards customer attitude and satisfaction (Durna et al., 2015; Hanks et al.,
2021) and implication towards hotel design and management (Lockwood & Pyun, 2019). According
to Bonfanti et al (2021), there is a need to reorganize the servicescape especially during the
COVID-19 pandemic as there is special need acquire by the hotel customer that need to be
delivered by the hotel such as safety, cleanliness and following the standard of procedure (SOP)
imposed by the government (Awan et al., 2020; Tiong et al., 2020).

There are physical and nonphysical elements in the hotel that will affect satisfaction level of
customer. Therefore, more research is needed to examine the effects of service environments on
the experiences of hotel customers. In this regard, one important research topic is the

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servicescape, which will be the main aim of the study. This study will look at the hotel servicescape

towards the value co-creation behavior of the customer or hotel guests.
Hotel servicescape consists of five elements namely aesthetic quality, functionality,

atmosphere, spaciousness and physiological conditions (Lockwood & Pyun, 2019). It is also being
highlighted that customers feel worthied and enjoy spending more time and money in a hotel

where they feel pleasure and moderate to high degree of arousal. Lockwood & Pyun (2018)

explained that a hotel is a series of spaces and each area such as lobby, guestrooms, restaurants,
bars, function, and meeting space should be designed for its particular use. Hence, the hotel is

designed for the customer to hang around and increase value of the time spent. The customer will
later satisfy and continue to interact with the hotel.

This is where the value co-create behavior comes in when the customer shows their

additional behavior and work together with the stakeholders such as other customers and
employees of the hotel.

VALUE CO-CREATE BEHAVIOR

Value co-creation is another important element that involved active participation from the
customer. There are many definitions of value co-creation. Value co-creation is a process of active
interaction between the firm and its customers to create value (González-Mansilla et al., 2019).
Nowadays, customers not only look at the basic services that they expect and should receive, but
also some other element that is special for them (Bonfanti et al., 2021). This happens especially
during the pandemic. For example, customer is looking at the servicescape and safety element
with regards to the pandemic.

There are several studies conducted with the regards of value co-creation behavior. Among
the study are covering the family firm image (FFI) (Kallmuenzer et al., 2020) and peer to peer
accommodation (P2P) (Razli et al., 2020). It is believed that co-creation strategies would surely
enhance the tourist/guest experience (Razli et al., 2020) in the process.

Previously, consumers were passive receivers of business marketing advertisements (Lin et
al., 2019). Nowadays, current consumers are actively involved in providing feedback or voice to
influence business-marketing directions. According to Font et al (2021), customer is the one who
will create value of the service or product that they received. Different customer will have different
value towards the services delivered to them. Hence, the study will look at the relationship of the
hotel servicescape towards the value co-create behavior among hotel guests.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Hotel Servicescape

- Aesthetic quality H1

- Functionality Value co-create behavior

- Atmosphere (Shulga & Busser, 2020)

- Spaciousness

- Physiological conditions

(Lockwood & Pyun, 2019)

Figure 2.0: Conceptual Framework

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Figure 2.0 illustrates the conceptual framework of the study. It consists of one independent
variable that is hotel servicescape and one dependent variable namely value co-create behavior
(Shulga & Busser, 2020). Hotel servicescape act as the first order variable. Meanwhile, there are
five second order variable that is aesthetic value, functionality, atmosphere, spaciousness and
physiological conditions (Lockwood & Pyun, 2019).

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT

Service Dominant Logic (SDL) is one of the theories that is normally used in the service
environment. The core concept of S-D logic is that the customer is always a co-creator of value. As
active participants and collaborative partners in relational exchanges, customers co-create value
with the firm through involvement in the entire service-value chain (Yi & Gong, 2013).

SDL has been used in few studies on value co-creation behaviour such as to look at positive
outcomes by customer (Busser & Shulga, 2018), managers designing service encounters to get
customer co create (Sanjit K. Roy et al., 2020), and service quality and brand loyalty (Luo et al.,
2019).

According to Vargo & Lusch (2004), S-D Logic is refers to a set of foundational premises that
help to: i) identify and develop core competences for competitive advantage, ii) identify customers
that can benefit from these core competences, iii) develop relationships to deliver value
propositions to meet customers’ needs, and iv) learn how to improve performance through closely
engaging with customers to offer better value.

In addition, the theory also suggests that value can only be determined by the customer
where else all stakeholders created the value and firms make value propositions accordingly (Font
et al., 2021). All partners in the supply chain need to understand the process despite the theory
needs to be cross-functional and inter-departmental (Vargo & Lusch, 2004). Hence, the study will
use SDL theory as the underpinned theory.

Hypothesis involved in the study are:
H1: There is a relationship between hotel servicescape towards value co-create behavior.
H1a: There is a relationship between aesthetic quality towards value co-create behavior.
H1b: There is a relationship between functionality towards value co-create behavior.
H1c: There is a relationship between atmosphere towards value co-create behavior.
H1d: There is a relationship between spaciousness towards value co-create behavior.
H1e: There is a relationship between physiological conditions towards value co-create behavior.

METHODOLOGY

According to Dedeoglu et al (2018), customers generally spend much time enjoying hotel
services, thus customers’ responses will be likely influenced by the hotel servicescape. The
sample of the study will be customers or to be specific hotel guests who has experienced
servicescape of the hotel that they have checked in. The sample will be local hotel guests as the
border is not yet open for foreign tourists. Besides that, Recovery Movement Control Order
(RMCO) made by the Government on 10 June 2020 came as a huge relief for the industry and it is
expected to be the key for domestic leisure travel demand (Tourism Malaysia, 2020).

The study will use general population to get the sample of the respondent (refer to Figure
2.0). The respondent will have similar attributes such as 18 years old and above. Besides that, the
respondent should have experienced staying at 4- or 5-star hotel. 4 and 5-star hotel can be
considered as luxury hotel as the hotel provides a luxurious accommodation experience to the
guests.

The sampling technique chosen for this study will be non-probability sampling. Purposive
sampling will be the chosen sampling for this study. Purposive sampling imposes judgements such

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as hotel guests who have stayed at the hotel for the last 1 to 2 years, so that they will provide
better answer and have quite latest memory on their stay experienced at the hotel. This is very
important for the hotel guest to answer the survey accordingly. Thus, the sample size needs to be
determined for them to be the respondent and answer the survey questionnaire.

There is no sampling frame available for the general population, hence, this study will use
roscoe for the sample size. According to the Roscoe ‘rule of thumb’, a sample size greater than 30
and less than 500 is suitable for most behavioural studies. Where else a sample size larger than
500 may lead to Type II error (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). Since the study will use Structural
Equation Modeling (SEM) for the data analysis, hence 300 sample is essential.

All the items in the questionnaire will be adapted to fit within this scenario’s context.

Figure 2.0: A Conceptualization of the Relationship between General, Target and Accessible
Population

DATA ANALYSIS
Data analysis involved the process of collecting, modeling, and analyzing data to extract

insights that support decision-making. It is considered as the crucial part in the research. There are
several methods and techniques to perform analysis depending on the industry and the aim of the
analysis. SPSS will be used to get the descriptive results of the study such as the reliability and the
demographic analysis. The study will use AMOS Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

CONCLUSION
This study is to look at the relationship between hotel servicescape and value co-create

behavior among hotel guests in Malaysia. The importance of servicescape never been ignored
especially in the service sector. Guests who satisfied with the servicescape offered by the hotel will
give good feedback and spread good word of mouth (WOM) to others. Hence, value co-create
behavior among the guests will bring benefit to both hotel guests and hotel employee. With mass
introduction and mass use of internet, it is believed that value co-create behavior is important
(Harkison, 2018). For example, guests will give feedback to the hotel through website, OTA or
even email sent by the hotel. The feedback will later be the benchmark for the hotel to improvise
on the services provided and react on the service recovery accordingly.

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The study will consider hotel guests who have experienced servicescape of 4- or 5-star hotel
in Malaysia as the respondents. It is crucial to get feedback from the hotel guests coincide with the
unprecedented pandemic that is happening worldwide. Changes made at the servicescape at the
hotel such as hotel lobby and hotel room (Tiong et al., 2020). For example, hotel lobby will have
special counter for MySejahtera registration and temperature scanner and hand sanitizer. Hotel
employees need to educate hotel guest on the new norm service delivery. Co-create behavior from
the guest is much appreciated to break the spread of the virus without disregard the importance of
excellent service from the hotel. Hence, this behavioral study on the perspective of hotel industry
among the hotel guest is significantly important as it is being highlighted that co-creation consists
of three imperious aspects which includes customer, firm and the interaction between the customer
and the firm (Sharma, 2021). In the future, study might want to look at the impact of servicescape
and value co-create behavior towards hotel employees as this study is focusing on the hotel guest.

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the information of data into constructing and maintenance model. With BIM, the data and process
are working by sharing with maximum effectiveness without gaps between stages.

2. The Advantage of Building Information Modelling in Interior Design

The BIM technology will convey a new paradigm in the construction industry especially for
interior design. There are several factors that can improve interior design by using BIM technology.
Based on previous studies, the benefits of BIM are divided in two situations. Short-term benefits are
more to acknowledging and as a learning process while going through the project using BIM. Long-
term benefits require a completed project before proceeding to another project (McGraw, 2012). The
integration of BIM technology ensures increased project performance such as cost, improved
communication and information sharing, and enhancing the quality and productivity to be more
efficient compared to the conventional or traditional project methods (Byrde et. al., 2013).

Table 1 Advantage of BIM Technology for Interior Design (Yi and Wang, 2016)

Factors Description
Information Modelling
With BIM software, the components of library were stored as several entities
Visualisation Analysis to establish the member composition with automatically generated interior
design components and drawings.
Visual Detailing
BIM is helping design to develop a model results in multiple aspects for the
Information Sharing visual analysis such as spatial analysis and effect analysis to ensure the
Collaboration quality of the design making it more convenient.

The several aspects such as lighting, material and finishes, furniture and
design process require attention and detailed development. With BIM
technology, it enables the designer to easily conduct visual analysis to get the
final results of the design.

and BIM will provide coordination and communication for all the basic aspects in
the construction works with the database and information integrated and
stored to expand the collaborative design through the network platform.

The implementation of BIM technology for interior design has developed 3D software for
multiple-used during the construction development, conceptual analysis, visual renderings and

compilation of documentation incorporated between the design drawing to ensure the direction,
efficiency and quality is improved. The industry players have proved that BIM technology is very

sufficient and effective in the spatial conceptual process to achieve the optimal design information

(Yi and Wang, 2016).
According to CIDB (2016), the readiness level of BIM usage among the construction industry

in Malaysia is still low which is 41% the construction industry lacking to understand the policies on
BIM implementation while 72% lacking on financial incentive to use BIM. Furthermore, 64% of

construction players failed to invest in training BIM and 67% failed to invest in software and hardware

for BIM adoption.

3. The Adoption of BIM in Interior Design

The task for interior designers is to design and develop space to be aesthetically pleasing and

a functional interior environment based on the client’s needs. As an interior designer, the
responsibility to solve problems with integration of space planning, material and finishes, ventilation

and lighting system collaborate between BIM technology and interior space in the development

process. The 3D visualisation in the BIM model can communicate and comply with functions by
different alternative solutions and modification in BIM technology.

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The efficiency of BIM technology has proven in many factors such as the communication and

information process, cost and time, and integration between other tasks with intelligent technology
can help improve space planning, designing and construction method, and infrastructure

development (Holzer, 2015 and Autodesk, 2014). By implementation of BIM, interior design scope

can be divided into panorama visualisation, construction review, clash detective and others (Figure
1).

Figure 1 The Different BIM Implementation in Interior Design (Jhang and Lin, 2016)

Panorama
Visualization

Alternative Clash
Selection Detective

Custom BIM Constructio
Modification n Sequence
Interface
Review Review

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research method was developed based on the literature and data collection. This study
was conducted using mix-methods to find out the level of satisfaction of BIM implementation for
interior design firms in Malaysia context. Several approaches were acknowledged in collecting data
such as review on previous research, interviews with expertise in interior design, questionnaire
survey and preliminary study in quantitative and qualitative methods. This method was conducted
with pilot study to find out the variables and key factors on implementation of BIM in the interior
design industry. The pilot study was conducted by choosing several interior design firms in Klang
Valley to get a pre-review from practitioners and expertise.

In this study, the aims are to justify the level of satisfaction of BIM usage among interior design
firms from the perspective of the interior design industry in Malaysia. The focus group was chosen
among interior design firms in Klang Valley which are divided into three (3) sizes of organisation
which is small, medium and big firms which total into sixty-three (63) interior design firms as
respondents in this survey. Most of the interior design firms are well established and already known
in the Klang Valley region. The selection of interior design firms in this study are based on the firms
registered with Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia (LAM). Several justifications were needed to select
because not all the registered companies under LAM are interior design firms, some of them are
architect firms, contractors and decoration companies.

In this methodology, the process to develop a questionnaire design is based on the validation
from expertise which are from among the interior design industry and academicians. In this stage,
the preliminary and pilot study was made to ensure the process for validation and collecting data are
accurate and reliable (Figure 2). The questionnaire survey was developed from literature review and
discussions with interior designers based on the problems and issues from previous studies. The

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data analysis was analysed through empirical analysis by using Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS). The discussion and result are discussed in the outcome of this study.

Figure 2 Research Methodology Process

DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
This study was conducted with a mix-method (Quantitative and Qualitative); questionnaire

survey was distributed to sixty-three (63) interior design firms in the Klang Valley area, and interviews
were done with interior design expertise that used BIM in practice. The respondents were chosen
according to the registered company with Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia (LAM) and divided in three (3)
groups which is small, medium and big organisations.
1. Background of Respondents

According to Figure 3, it shows the sizes of interior design firms; small, medium and big firms.
These categories are; 1 – 6 staff for small size, 7 – 15 staff for medium size and 16 and more staff
for big size interior design firms.

Figure 3 Size of Interior Design Firms

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The pie chart shows twenty-seven (27) or forty-three percent (43%) respondents for small
interior design firm, twenty-one (21) or thirty-three percent (33%) respondents for medium interior
design firm and fifteen (15) or twenty-four percent (24%) respondents for big interior design firm. The
small interior design firms are the most significant respondents in this survey. Most of the category
of big interior design firms are more established compared to small interior design firms.

2. Categories of Firms

In this study, it was found out the categories of interior design firms. It is divided into interior
design consultants, design and build, contractors and others. According to Figure 4, the category of
interior design consultant is the highest category with sixty-eight percent (68%) respondents and
followed by the design and build categories with twenty-five percent (25%) respondents. However,
only seven percent (7%) in the contractor category in this survey. From that, the categories of the
interior design consultant are very prominent with more fifty percent (50%) which are consultant type
businesses.

Figure 4 Categories of Firms

3. BIM Implementation and Knowledge

Implementation of BIM is still new in the interior design industry as compared to other
disciplines in the construction industry in Malaysia. The Malaysian interior design industry is still
lacking knowledge regarding BIM usage. According to Table 2, there are sixty percent (60%)
respondents that do not have knowledge, compared to forty percent (40%) respondents that know
about BIM. It is clearly shown that small interior design firms still have a massive gap regarding BIM
with twenty-seven (17) respondents representing twenty-seven percent (27%). This is very crucial
for the interior design industry, who are left behind as compared to other professions in the
construction industry in Malaysia.

BIM technology is very important to enhance and develop the process in the construction
industry especially in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC). For that, the implementation
of BIM must apply in the interior design industry. Based on the Table 2, eighty-one percent (81%)
respondents are not using BIM compared to nineteen percent (19%) respondents are using BIM.
This shows a huge gap among interior design firms using BIM technology.

There are thirty-seven percent (37%) respondents from small interior design firms that do not
use BIM technology, followed by medium interior design firms with twenty-five percent (25%) and
big interior design firms with nineteen percent (19%). The main factors why they are not using BIM
technology is cost and still using conventional practice methods.

210

Table 2 Implementation and general knowledge of BIM

4. The Level of Satisfaction Using BIM in Interior Design Firms
BIM implementation in the construction industry is important to enhance knowledge and skill.

In this study, several factors of the satisfaction level were identified among interior design firms.
According to Table 3, the level of satisfaction was analysed through descriptive analysis which is a
mean score of 4.32 for small interior design firms, followed by medium interior design firms with a
mean score of 4.05 and big interior design firms with a mean score of 3.29. The small interior design
firms are higher with a mean score of 4.32 which is a higher satisfaction level. The highest factors
of satisfaction level with a mean score of 4.75 use BIM in the organisation, Software usage in BIM
and Service Performance compared to other variables. Therefore, another factor is an
implementation of BIM in the design stage with a mean score of 4.50 for small interior design firms.

The descriptive analysis was used for medium interior design firms with mean score of 4.05
where is the most satisfying level with mean score 4.40 are BIM users in the organisation and design
stage. It shows that the success in the design stage is a result of using BIM. The satisfaction level
for medium interior design firms is average with a mean score of 4.00 with the lowest mean score of
3.60 for software usage. There are two factors with mean score 3.80 which is the relationship
between stakeholders and data processing for medium interior design firms.

Table 3 The Level of Satisfaction Using BIM

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However, the overall mean score is 3.29 for big interior design firms with the lowest satisfaction
level is working methods when using BIM with a mean score of 2.33 and the highest mean score of
4.67 for service performance satisfaction level. Even though there are differences with service
performance satisfaction level and working methods satisfaction level, it is still having a good
potential for a better service. Overall mean score in range is 3.00 which is for big interior design
firms, which are still waiting to see how effective and beneficial BIM is for their firms.

In this study, it is shown that the service performance satisfaction level is the highest with mean
score 4.54 followed by the implementation of BIM in the design stage with mean score of 4.10 and
BIM implementation in the organisation with mean score of 4.05. The other satisfaction factors with
a mean score of 3.82 is data processing and followed with a mean score of 3.80 which is software
usage in BIM technology. For the working methods when using BIM with a mean score of 3.59, some
of the interior design firms who are willing to use BIM technology and some of them preferred
traditional methods such as AutoCAD software. The lowest mean score shows the relationship
between stakeholders with mean score 3.35.

5. The Level of Readiness and Awareness in BIM Implementation.

The BIM technology is still new and uncertain for future implementation in the interior design
firms in Malaysia. In this study, Figure 5 shows the Level of Awareness and Readiness of BIM
implementation among interior design firms in Malaysia based on data surveys.

The data shows that from the twenty-seven (27) respondents, only ten (10) respondents from
small interior design firms show the level of awareness as moderate, followed by eleven (11)
respondents from twenty-one (21) respondents for medium interior design firms that are aware of
the implementation of BIM. Otherwise, out of fifteen (15) respondents only eight (8) respondents
from big interior design firms are aware of BIM usage.

Figure 5 The Level of Awareness and Readiness of BIM Implementation in Interior Design Firms

This descriptive analysis also shows the readiness level for interior design firms in Malaysia
as shown in Figure 5. The data illustrate that only twelve (12) small interior design firms are ready
to use BIM technology, followed by the medium interior design firms with three (3) respondents and
the big interior design firms with six (6) respondents extremely ready to implement BIM technology
in their interior design practice.

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Ayat

K Mempengaruhi makna
O Perenggan sesuatu perkataan untuk
N ditafsirkan dan difahami
T
E Surah
K
S

Al-Qur’an

Rajah 1 Konsep kontekstual

METODOLOGI

Kajian ini berbentuk kualitatif dan menggunakan reka bentuk analisis teks. Al-Qur’an
menjadi sumber utama dalam mengidentifikasi lafaz-lafaz awan yang termaktub dalam setiap

ayat al-Qur’an. Sumber lain yang digunakan dalam kajian ialah kajian-kajian linguistik,

tatabahasa Arab, tafsir al-Qur’an, asbab nuzul dan sebagainya.
Terdapat lima lafaz awan dalam al-Qur’an dan ia dikenalpasti menerusi kajian-kajian

lepas seperti ‘Aydah (1990), al-‘Abadasah (2002), al-Za’arir (2003), Muhammad (2010) dan
Mandur (2012). Setiap lafaz tersebut juga berpandukan al-Mu’jam al-Mufahras li Alfaz al-

Qur’an al-Karim (2001) untuk mengetahui kedudukannya dalam setiap ayat al-Qur’an yang
berbeza seperti nama surah, kedudukan ayat dan frekuensi kekerapannya dalam al-Qur’an.

Korpus yang telah dinyatakan akan dikupas secara deskriptif berpandukan kepada beberapa

aspek iaitu leksikografi. Lafaz-lafaz awan tersebut dihuraikan asal usulnya menerusi kamus
klasik Arab iaitu Mu’jam Lisan al-Arab (1999), Taj al-Arus min Jawahir al-Qamus (2001) dan

al-Qamus al-Muhit (2005). Kamus moden juga digunakan iaitu al-Mu’jam al-Wasit (1972) dan
penggunaan kamus ini bertujuan menentukan ketepatan makna asal perkataan serta melihat

perbandingan makna antara kedua-dua kamus.

Seterusnya, perbincangan terhadap lafaz-lafaz tersebut akan dilihat aspek penafsiran
berkisarkan perbahasan antara para sarjana berkaitan asbab atau sebab nuzul yang

berkaitan.

Dapatan dan Perbincangan

Sebanyak lima lafaz yang membawa makna awan dalam al-Qur’an dan ia dilampirkan
dalam jadual 1 mengikut kedudukan ayat dalam surah serta frekuensi kekerapannya:

Jadual 1 Lafaz awan dalam al-Qur’an

Bil Lafaz Surah Kekerapan

1 al-Sahab al-Baqarah, al-A’raf, al-Ra’d, al-Naml, 9
al-Nur, al-Rum, Fatir, al-Thur

2 al-Ghamam al-Baqarah, al-A’raf, al-Furqan 4

3 al-‘Arid al-Ahqaf 2

4 al-Muzn al-Waqi’ah 1

5 al-Mu’sirat al-Naba’ 1

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Dapatan tersebut menunjukkan kekerapan lafaz awan yang berbagai-bagai dalam ayat
yang berbeza. Setiap lafaz ini mengandungi asal usul perkataan tersendiri sebagaimana
dihuraikan oleh sarjana bahasa dan dibahaskan oleh para sarjana Islam seperti berikut:

1) al-Sahab

a. Leksikografi

Menurut Ibn Manzur (1999), al-sahab berasal daripada kata dasar ‫َس َح َب يَ ْس َح ُب َس ْحبًا‬

bererti menyeret, menarik. Al-sahabah bererti awan dan dinamakan sebagai awan kerana ia
terseret, ditarik di udara. Kata jamak bagi al-sahabah ialah saha’ib, sahab dan suhub. Al-
Fayruz Abadi (2005) menyebut al-sahab bermaksud awan dan kata jamaknya ialah sahib,
suhub dan saha’ib. Dalam al-Mu’jam al-Wasit (1972), disebut al-sahab ialah awan sama ada
awan yang mengandungi air di dalamnya atau tidak. Kata jamak bagi al-sahab ialah suhub.

b. Tafsir
Ibn Kathir (1998) menyebut bahawa al-sahab yang dinyatakan dalam semua ayat dalam

al-Qur’an ialah awan. Al-Zuhayli (2009) menyatakan bahawa al-sahab dalam surah al-
Baqarah, al-A’raf, al-Ra’d, al-Rum dan Fatir bermaksud awan yang menjadi tanda kekuasaan
dan kebijaksanaan Allah. Awan yang berkumpul di langit menjadi bukti kebijaksaanNya yang
menciptakan langit terapung-apung dan kemudian ia menurunkan hujan.

Dalam surah al-Naml, al-sahab menurut ‘Ashur (1984) ialah awan yang menjadi satu
gambaran kepada tanda kiamat. Pergerakan gunung-ganang menjadi cepat seperti awan
bergerak cepat ditiup angin. Manakala al-sahab dalam surah al-Nur menurut al-Shawkani
(1994) ialah awan yang menjadi perumpamaan kepada keadaan orang kafir yang berada
dalam tiga kegelapan iaitu kegelapan dalam laut, ombak dan awan. Manakala al-sahab dalam
surah al-Thur menurut al-Qanuji (1992) ialah awan yang menjadi permintaan kaum musyrikin
supaya mereka ditimpakan azab dari langit.

Daripada penjelasan tersebut, dapat dikatakan bahawa lafaz al-sahab yang termaktub
dalam Al-Qur’an hanya layak dan sesuai digunakan pada Allah dan tidak layak digunakan
pada manusia atau makhluk yang lain. Ini kerana awan ialah satu ciptaan yang diciptakan
oleh Allah sahaja dan ini menunjukkan bahawa Allah merupakan pencipta yang berautoriti
secara mutlak. Dia boleh menjadikan awan itu dalam apa jua bentuk rupa dan keadaan sama
ada secara terapung, berat mengandungi air di dalamnya, berkepul-kepul dan seumpamanya
lagi. Semua itu dipaparkan oleh Allah menerusi ayat-ayat yang berbeza supaya manusia
dapat memikirkan keindahan mesej yang tertera di sebaliknya. Mesej yang disampaikan
tersebut memberikan ruang kepada pembaca untuk mengamati peristiwa terkandung di
sebalik sesuatu ayat.

2) al-Ghamam

a. Leksikografi
Dari sudut leksikografi, Ibn Manzur (1999) menyebut al-ghamam berasal daripada

perkataan ‫ َّ َغم‬yang bermaksud menutup. Manakala ‫ أَ َغ َّمت السماء‬bermaksud langit ditutupi

awan. Al-ghamamah bererti awan dan kata jamaknya ialah ghamam dan ghama’im. Ia
dinamakan al-ghamam kerana awan tersebut menutupi langit. Dalam satu rangkap puisi, al-
ghamam ada disebut oleh Ibn Bariy:

218

‫ُونُسقى ال َغما َم الغُ َّر حين تَ ُؤوب‬ ‫إذا ِغ ْب َت َع َنّا َغا َب َع َّنا ربي ُعنا‬

(Dan kami menyirami awan yang hilang (Apabila engkau hilang dari kami maka
ketika ia kembali) hilanglah musim bunga)

Dalam rangkap tersebut, penyair meluahkan perasaannya dengan menyebut apabila
awan tiada maka hilanglah musim bunga. Gambaran tersebut menunjukkan awan ialah
penyeri kepada suasana musim bunga yang redup mempersonakan. Jika tiada awan maka
hilangnya keserian musim bunga yang mempersonakan. Ini kerana awan sentiasa berubah
bentuk dan kedudukannya. Adakalnya ia ada dan adakalanya ia tiada.

Dalam al-Mu’jam al-Wasit (1972), disebut bahawa al-ghamam ialah kata jamak yang
bermaksud awan. Maka, dalam hal ini dapatlah dikatakan bahawa al-ghamam bermaksud
awan. Ia dinamakan sedemikian kerana awan tersebut menutupi langit.

b. Tafsir
Al-Baghawi (1999) berpendapat bahawa al-ghamam dalam semua ayat Al-Qur’an

tersebut bermaksud awan. Al-Baydawi (2000) mengatakan bahawa al-ghamam dalam ayat
57 dari surah al-Baqarah ialah awan yang menaungi kaum Bani Israil dari panas matahari.
Dalam ayat 210 dari surah al-Baqarah, al-Qanuji (1996) berpendapat bahawa al-ghamam
dalam ayat ialah awan yang menjadi lindungan kepada orang-orang yang ingkar. Dalam
lindungan awan tersebut, mereka akan ditimpakan azab oleh Allah. Al-Shawkani (1994)
menyatakan bahawa al-ghamam dalam ayat surah al-A’raf ialah awan yang menjadi naungan
kepada Bani Israil. Perkataan al-ghamam dalam ayat surah al-Furqan menurut al-Zuhayli
(2009) ialah kumpulan awan yang terbentuk daripada langit yang pecah-belah pada hari
kiamat.

Melihat kepada apa yang telah dinyatakan para sarjana, dapat dinyatakan bahawa al-
ghamam ialah awan yang hanya digunakan sebagai lindungan atau naungan. Setiap konteks
ayat tersebut menggambarkan keadaan lindungan atau naungan yang diberikan oleh Allah

219

220



3) ‘Arid dalam surah al-Ahqaf ialah awan terbentang luas yang menjadi ancaman
kepada kaum Nabi Hud. Penggunaannya dalam ayat tersebut menunjukkan awan yang
datang kepada kaum Nabi Hud sebenarnya azab yang akan membinasakan mereka semua.
Maka, arid ialah awan yang terbentang luas di ufuk langit dan ia dinyatakan dalam al-Qur’an
sebagai awan yang menakutkan dan menurunkan azab. Ini kerana rupa bentuk awan yang
terbentang di langit sudah menggambarkan ia awan menakutkan yang boleh menghancurkan
sesuatu.

4) Al-muzn ialah awan yang terpisah dari langit atau awan yang berat mengandungi air.
Ia berbeza dengan al-sahab yang juga awan tetapi ia tidak mengandungi air. Al-muzn ialah
kata nama bagi awan setelah melalui proses pembentukannya. Ini bermakna awan yang
mengandungi air dan menurunkannya sebagai hujan lebih tepat disebut al-muzn bukannya
al-sahab. Sekiranya al-sahab ingin menurunkan air dari langit maka ia akan melalui proses
dan berubah kepada awan yang disebut al-muzn.

5) Al-mu'sirat ialah awan yang dipenuhi air tetapi air yang turun lebih lebat lagi dari awan
yang disebut al-muzn. Ini kerana kata dasarnya ‘asara yang memberikan gambaran air yang
turun dari awan itu banyak dan ia seolah diperah. Apabila diperah ia akan mengeluarkan air
yang banyak dan awan yang disebut al-mu’sirat ini merangkumi tiga perkara iaitu langit, awan
dan angin. Apabila ketiga-tiga perkara ini ada, ia akan membentuk awan yang mengeluarkan
air yang lebih lebat mencurah-curah dengan suasana yang dikelilingi angin kencang.

KESIMPULAN

Setelah mengamati teks al-Qur’an yang mengandungi lafaz-lafaz awan, dapat
dinyatakan bahawa setiap perkataan awan tersebut digunakan dalam konteks ayat yang
berbeza-beza. Ini kerana setiap lafaz tersebut mempunyai ketepatan penggunaannya yang
amat terperinci dalam menyampaikan sesuatu mesej di sebalik ayat.

Penggunaannya dalam al-Qur’an menandakan ia sesuatu yang penting kepada umat
manusia untuk memahami dan mengerti kewujudan satu kuasa yang maha agung dan tidak
dapat ditandingi oleh sesiapa sekalipun. Di sebalik penceritaan awan yang termaktub dalam
al-Qur’an, ia memperlihatkan kehebatan sang pencipta mutlak yang mentadbir alam semesta
ini dan kelemahan makhluk ciptaanNya yang tidak mempunyai kudrat untuk mengurus dan
mentadbir alam ini. Kewujudan awan yang disebutkan ini sebagai pedoman dan petunjuk
kepada manusia supaya berfikir tentang segala penciptaanNya yang ada di atas muka bumi
dan juga alam semesta ini.

Oleh itu, dapat disimpulkan bahawa setiap pengungkapan lafaz atau perkataan awan
dalam al-Qur

222







UiTM, UPSI, UTHM, UTEM, UNIMAP, UMT, UMP and UnisZA (Rahman, 2017). Another seven are
in the process of implementing it.

The term “university” historically originated from the Latin word i.e., universities. It was used to
refer to the University of Bologna that was established in Italy in 1088. For that reason, some have
claimed that the University of Bologna is the first university in the world. Subsequently, in the middle
of the twelfth-century, countries like Paris, Oxford and Cambridge started to follow the University of
Bologna in their institutions. Several researchers have claimed that the existence of the university
today is a European legacy, whereby it was demonstrated by Walter (2004) that it is “the only
European institution which has preserved its fundamental patterns and its basic social role and
functions over the course of history” as quoted by (Wan, Sirat, & Razak, 2015). Many Muslim centres
of learning notably evolved from mosques and are recognized as the oldest universities in the world.
The mosque itself is waqf property and so a university in Islamic civilization originates from waqf
property and is considered part of the waqf. These include Al Qaryawwan and Al-Zaytuna in Tunisia,
Al-Azhar in Egypt and Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco (Zaimeche, 2002).

In Malaysia, Section 2 of Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 describes a University
or a University College as a higher educational institution having the status of a University or
University College, respectively. Meanwhile, pursuant to Section 2 of the Private Higher Educational
Institutions Act 1996, University or University College means a private higher educational institution
conferred with the status of a University or University College under section 21, and include such
private higher educational institution which is affiliated to a University or University College whether
within or outside Malaysia., conferred with the status of a University or a University College (Hussin,
Rashid, & Yaakub, 2016).

THE CONCEPT OF WAQF IN HEI

Waqf literally means to retain or to hold back. Technically it means, “to make a property the
inalienable property of its own owner while making its yield and usufruct a charitable donation to
specified beneficiaries” (Bouheraoua & Riaz Ansary, 2010). The word 'waqf' in Malaysia is therefore
strictly confined to waqf that is created according to Islamic law and such waqf must come within the
jurisdiction of the SIRCs as 'sole trustee' (Kader & Mohamad, 2014). Waqf in the context of
universities has not been specifically defined. However, its concepts and principles could be seen
adopted in many universities. Mahamood & Rahman (2015) demonstrated that waqf university
means a university established based on waqf concepts and principles.

Before proceeding to the next section, it is highly imperative to understand the stakeholders of
waqf in the universities. Stakeholders refer to “any group or individual who can affect or is affected
by the achievement of the organization’s objectives” (Abdullah & Ismail, 2017). According to the
Ministry of Higher Education (2016) stakeholders of waqf in universities consist of the following:

a) Firstly, the givers (waqif). The givers are the parties who participate in donating their movable
or immovable properties lawfully owned by them voluntarily to public universities for an
intended purpose to benefit others (beneficiaries). Waqf allows a Giver to demonstrate his/her
submission to Allah through charitable deeds.

b) Secondly, the State Islamic Religious Council (SIRC) (Mutawwali). SIRC is the sole trustee of
waqf properties for the states as recognized by every state enactment relating to waqf. Being
a sole waqf authority for the state, it is undeniable that the SIRC has power to grant permission
for universities to become a waqf administrator.

c) Thirdly, waqf administrators. As waqf administrators, universities are authorized by SIRCs to
establish a sustainable infrastructure which will among others, collect, raise, use, manage,
invest, and develop the waqf fund, as well as distribute waqf proceeds as agreed in the

226

Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between a public university and the respective SIRC.
Accordingly, waqf managers are required to manage the waqf assets prudently and
professionally as stipulated by the law (Hassan & Rashid, 2015).

d) Finally, beneficiaries (mawquf alaih). Beneficiaries are the primary actors in the creation of
waqf at the universities. Mawquf alaih in higher education include students, staff, university,
community, and public (Asuhaimi, 2017). They could enjoy the benefits in the form of
scholarships, research grants, professional chairs, travel allowances and sponsorships,
among others. Staff in the university with lower income may also enjoy the benefit from waqf
in terms of cash money to reduce their daily burden.

Universities as the administrators of waqf authorized by SIRCs must contemplate the
stakeholders above mentioned by practicing the good governance concepts towards the
sustainability of waqf in future. Among the four stakeholders discussed above, the SIRC and waqf
administrator are the focus of this study. This paper is divided into several sections beginning with
the introduction. The second section briefly discusses the research method employed in this study.
The third section provides a detailed discussion on the evolution of waqf administration in Malaysia.
Then, the next section focuses on the result and discussion. Finally, this section concludes and
explicates the recommendations of the paper.

METHODOLOGY

In achieving the aims of the study, a qualitative approach is incorporated. Data collection
involves two methods. The first method is applied to obtain data from primary and secondary
sources. The references include statutes, articles from published journals, conference papers,
books, and websites. As regard to the second method, interviews were conducted with several
respondents to further understand the issues concerned. All the interviews are recorded and
transcribed. Finally, all the data will be analyzed using the content analysis method.

THE EVOLUTION OF WAQF ADMINISTRATION IN MALAYSIA

The Legal Framework

Cizakca (2016) meticulously discussed the evolution of waqf administration in Malaysia since
pre-1950 until the recent development which led to the establishment of Department of Awqaf, Zakah
and Hajj (JAWHAR) in 2004 and the formation of the Malaysian Awqaf Foundation in 2008 under
the Trustees (incorporation) Act 1952. In pre-1950, waqf was administered and managed by
community leaders or respected persons such as the kadis, imams, bilals and the penghulus. Lack
of a proper governance framework resulted in the loss of some waqf properties. Nevertheless, during
British occupation in the 17th century, official trustees were appointed either by the British-led
administration or the states’ religious councils to administer and manage waqf properties in the
Straits Settlements, Federated and Unfederated Malay States. Equally important, during post-1950
i.e after Merdeka Day, the management of waqf properties fell under the jurisdiction and power of
the respective states’ religious councils (Kader & Md.Dahlan, 2017). This is pursuant to Article 74
(2) of Federal Constitution which mentions that:

“…Wakafs and the definition and regulation of charitable and religious trusts, the appointment
of trustees and the incorporation of persons in respect of Islamic religious and charitable
endowments, institutions, trusts, charities and charitable institutions operating wholly within

227

the State…” Statutes or legislations governing waqf have been introduced under Article 74,
read together with the State List of the Ninth Schedule.

The Islamic state department will enforce all the legislations accordingly. Selangor was one of
the earliest states that enacted the laws on waqf pursuant to Laws on the Administration of Islamic
Shari’ah of 1952 (Cizakca, 2016). It was then followed by other states such as Malacca 1959, Kedah
1962, Perlis 1963, Perak 1965 and Johor 1978 (Cizakca, 2016; Kader & Md.Dahlan, 2017).
Effectively, these laws acknowledge the SIRC as a government institution having regulatory powers
to manage waqf properties. As concern for waqf increased, the law also required improvement. For
example, Laws for Administration of the Religion of Islam 1952 in Selangor has been amended in
1989 and was known as the Administration of Islamic Law Enactment 1989 which sought to combine
all laws relating to the administration of the Religion of Islam in Selangor. In 1999, a special
enactment relating to waqf was passed, namely, the Selangor Waqf Enactment 1999 (Mohamad,
Kader, & Ali, 2012). This enactment is vital as a source of reference to restructure waqf
administration in the state of Selangor. To keep abreast with the current development in Selangor,
another amendment was made in 2015 viz Wakaf (State of Selangor) Enactment 2015 (Enactment
15). Following the step of Selangor, several other states have instituted their waqf legislations with
several administrative and substantive provisions namely Wakaf (State of Sabah) Enactment 2018,
Terengganu Waqf Enactment 2016, Wakaf (Perak) Enactment 2015, Wakaf (State of Malacca)
Enactment 2005 and Wakaf (Negeri Sembilan) Enactment 2005.

On the other hand, Johor administers their waqf based on the Johor Wakaf Rules 1983. These
laws provide more comprehensive definitions for waqf as well as the main constituents for the
creation of waqf such as the waqif (donor), mawquf (the waqf property), and mawquf alaih (the
beneficiaries). For other states which do not have specific waqf enactments, the provisions in the
state Administration of Muslim Law enactments are applied (Kader & Mohamad, 2014).

The Position of the Waqf Trustee

In the creation of waqf, besides the donor and the beneficiary as the obvious parties, the waqf
trustee (mutawwali) is a trustworthy party who is generally responsible for managing, maintaining,
protecting and developing the waqf assets for the benefits of the Muslim community. Several authors
have traced the evolution in the appointment of mutawalli from the individually appointed mutawalli
in ancient times to officially appointed ones in some Muslim countries and to the current institutional
mutawalli in modern Muslim and Muslim minority nations like India and Singapore (Kader, Mohamad,
Ali, & Ishola, 2017; Saleem, 2009). However, Saleem (2009) contended that in this modern time, it
is no longer feasible to allow only government-run institutions such as the SIRC and the ministry of
awqaf in other countries to be mutawallis for all the waqf properties. Other institutions such as
universities, religious schools, hospitals, NGOs and other charitable institutions should be allowed
to assume the job of mutawallis towards the contribution to the socio-economic development of the
Muslim communities.

The Concept of Nazir, Mutawalli, and Qayyim under the Shari‘ah

It is noted in the most literature on waqf, various terms are used to refer to a waqf trustee. The
common terms used are Mutawalli, Nazir, and Qayyim. Nonetheless, the term mutawalli is frequently
used for all of them though the term Nazir or Nazir-al-Waqf is at times interchangeably used with
Mutawalli and Mutawalli-al-Waqf, respectively, for the person or institution charged with the
responsibility of waqf management or administration (Kader et al., 2017). By that, it is understood
why the mutawalli is also described as “the Nazir (Overseer)” for the affairs of the waqf who
safeguards its good and protect the rights of the beneficiaries in accordance with the terms spelled
out by the waqif and the principles of Islamic law. Thus, mutawalli, as a general term, is the person

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or institution involved in the affairs of waqf either as a manager, administrator, regulator, or
supervisor. Mutawalli also can be defined as a person, a group of people or institutions who are
appointed by the sole trustees or other trustee board to manage and develop the waqf property
(Mutalib & Maamor, 2016).

For further clarification, Kader et al. (2017) elucidated the terms of Nazir, Mutawalli, and
Qayyim based on:

a) the mode of appointment,
b) nature of the mutawalli
c) and the functions assigned or carried out by the concerned mutawalli.

Term Based on the Mode of Appointment

In this situation, there are two forms of mutawalli, namely Original/Primary Mutawalli (Al-
Mutawalli Al-Asli) and Subsequent/Secondary Mutawalli (Al-Mutawalli Al-Far’i). The Original
Mutawalli refers to a situation when the waqif himself chooses the mutawalli based on the condition
specified in the Waqf Deed. If the waqif did not appoint any mutawalli, the Judge will appoint one for
him. Next, a Subsequent Mutawalli is the one who is appointed by the Original Mutawalli. A
Secondary Mutawalli takes the position based on the declarations, authorization, conditions, and
delegation of such powers to him in the Waqf Deed. This kind of Mutawalli is known as Qayyim.
While a person assumes the position of the Mutawalli by operation of law (i.e., principles of Islamic
law), the appropriate term to use in referring to him is Nazir. By operation of law, generally, the most
qualified person to assume the position of the Mutawalli is the waqif himself. This is because of his
position as the closest person to the waqf (i.e., the mawquf) and being the most knowledgeable
about the reason behind the waqf and how best its aims can be realized to benefit the mawquf alaih.

Term Based on The Nature of Mutawalli

In terms of appointment based on the nature of mutawalli, it could be understood in two
situations. Firstly, when an individual person or a group of individual persons or an institution
assumes the position of Mutawalli in a private capacity, the proper reference is to call him Mutawalli.
Meanwhile, if the Mutawalli’s functions are performed by an individual person or a group of individual
persons or a state institution/authority in the official capacity, the proper term is to refer to them as
Nazir.

Term Based on the Functions Assigned or Carried Out by the Concerned Mutawalli

This kind of situation could be seen in the event the waqif needs to appoint both, Mutawalli
and Nazir exercising different functions in his Waqf Deed. If the one is appointed for overseeing the
day-to-day activities of the waqf he is called Manager or Mutawalli. On the other hand, the Nazir
would be the Supervisor (Mushrif) with the function to coordinate the activities of the Mutawalli.
Hence, in brief, the term Nazir is a proper term for one who is not directly involved in managing the
affairs of the waqf. However, the term Mutawalli appropriately refers to someone who deals directly
with the waqf, whether he has another person to report to or not.

The Trusteeship of Waqf Under Malaysian Laws

Since waqf in Malaysia is a state matter as illustrated in Article 74 (2) of Federal Constitution,
therefore, the SIRCs become the sole trustee to manage all the waqf assets in the states. An
analysis made by Kader et al. (2017) on several provisions in three waqf enactments namely
Selangor Waqf Enactment 2015 (Section 4), Perak Waqf Enactment 2015 (Section 27) and
Terengganu Waqf Enactment 2016 (Section 4) reveal that being a sole trustee, SIRC has power to

229

appoint another person to administer and manage waqf funds. However, the sole-trusteeship of waqf
as mentioned in the enactments is imprecise whether it means to assign the role of the Nazir,
Mutawalli or Qayyim to the institution conferred with that title.

Practically, in Malaysia, Nazir, Mutawalli or Qayyim are used to refer to the waqf trustee in
order of ranking (Mahamood, 2017). The term Mutawalli is commonly used for all of them. Besides,
these three terms are regularly used interchangeably and are notoriously hard to be differentiated
as they refer to the same functions. Thus, it is imperative for these concepts to be clearly clarified
as suggested by Kader et al. (2017). Othman (1982) the earliest author on waqf in Malaysia,
expressed that waqf administration is under the control of Nazir, Mutawalli, and Qayyim. For him,
Nazir is “a single person supervising the administration.” It is also known as manager or administrator
of waqf.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The Status of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Management of Waqf

Legitimately, HEIs in Malaysia need to get approval from the SIRCs before collecting waqf
funds due to the sole trustee power exercised by the SIRC. The implementation of waqf in the
universities without the approval of SIRCs would be contrary to the Malaysian laws as highlighted
under Section 45 of Wakaf (State of Selangor) Enactment 2015 (Enactment 15) as following:

“Any person who administers or manages wakaf am or wakaf khas without the written
permission of Majlis or Corporation commits an offense and shall, on conviction, be liable to a
fine not exceeding one thousand ringgit or to imprisonment”.

The willingness of the SIRC to grant the permission is imperative before a university is allowed
to collect waqf funds. Ali Hamdan (2016) expressed that currently there is no specific law to
determine the eligibility of an institution to be appointed as manager of waqf (mutawalli) funds.
Practically, the process to get the approval for establishing a waqf fund starts when the top
management of the university decides to implement waqf in their institution. A proposal will be
prepared to be submitted to the SIRC. Given that Selangor and Negeri Sembilan have established
waqf corporations to manage waqf funds viz. Selangor Wakaf Corporation (PWS) and Negeri
Sembilan Waqf Corporation (PWNS) therefore, all the applications to establish waqf funds must go
through them. Both corporations are considered Nazir appointed by their respective SIRCs. There
will be meetings and discussions among the stakeholders involved in considering the contents of
the proposal before the permission is granted.

At this stage, a joint committee will be formed consisting of several stakeholders, especially
representatives from the SIRC, Universities Committees, and others. For a new university that
wishes to implement waqf, guidelines prepared by the Ministry of Higher Education on
implementation of waqf and endowments (‘the Purple Book’) could be their reference in terms of
selecting the best model to be adopted. The Purple Book is a practical guidebook providing a set of
recommendations for the universities for the enhancement of waqf and endowment in universities
(Rahman, 2017).

Equally important, the study notes that the appointment is officially granted once a
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is signed by both parties involved, namely, the SIRC and the
administrator of waqf in the university. Any disagreement arising should be settled before the official
signing takes place. Additionally, it is vital for all the guidelines required by SIRC to be fulfilled by the
university (Personal Communication, 16 March 2017). If not, the signing of MOA may be deferred
and consequently, waqf donations cannot be collected and received until these matters are settled.
The MOA signed will bind both parties as it is enforceable according to the law of contract. From the

230

study conducted, the guidelines to be complied with are not spelled out yet in the enactments relating

to waqf of the states. These guidelines are not conclusive and may be changed depending on the
circumstances and matters involved.

In terms of waqf management, it depends on the mode of appointment entrusted to them by

the SIRC. Any of the three concepts of waqf management under the Shari‘ah namely Nazir,
Mutawalli and Qayyim will be granted to a university. The nature of authorization given to the

university depends on the state where the university is located. It is differently practiced by SIRCs in
each state as such universities will acquire different status as shown in Table 1. The status acquired

reflects the extent of autonomous power exercised by the universities in managing their waqf assets.

Table 1 exemplifies that certain SIRCS are not willing to grant the Mutawalli status and some are
willing to do so. USIM, for example, has been granted Mutawalli status with full autonomous powers

to manage their waqf assets without any condition to share the percentage of collection with PWNS
(Personal Communication, 24 November 2016). On the other hand, with the self-governing power

granted, USIM is still required to submit periodic management and financial reports on the USIM Al-

Abrar Waqf Fund to PWNS (Alias, Johari, & Rahman, 2014).
Conversely, universities in Selangor acquire different managerial status though they are in the

same state. In Selangor, SIRC is the Mutawalli while PWS is Nazir. MAIS as a sole trustee of waqf
is not willing to appoint other entities as Mutawalli since the title specially refers to MAIS. As of now,

no university in Selangor is granted with Mutawalli status. However, before the formation of PWS,

UIM was granted a title as Mutawalli but, after the term of appointment expired, UIM’s status was
changed to Nazir. Complementary to this, based on the study conducted, SIRC does not appoint

any specific university under the term of Qayyim.

Table 1: The Status of Waqf Manager in Selected Universities

State Higher Waqf Manager Status Sources
Islamic Education
Religious Institutions Joint Management Committee Interview on 22
Council Joint Management Committee November2016
MAIS/PWS UKM Joint Management Committee Interview on 18
October 2016
MAINS/ UPM Nazir Interview on 25 May
PWNS Mutawwali 2017
MAIDAM UiTM Joint Management Committee Interview on 24
MAINPP Mutawalli November 2017
MAIJ UIM Nazir Khas Interview on 24
November 2016
USIM Interview on 13 Mac
2017
UNISZA (Asuhaimi, 2017)
(Kader et al., 2017)
USM
UTM

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In summary, findings of this study reveal several implications. The term sole trustee
exclusively refers to the SIRC as authorized government institutions for all waqf properties. The fact
that the law allows power to be delegated to others, requires the terms of appointment to be clearly
spelled out to avoid issues in future. The unclear terms of appointment i.e Nazir, Mutawalli or Qayyim
leads to confusion concerning the extent of power authorized by the universities. So far, no specific
provision clearly provides details on this matter in the waqf enactment of the states. Therefore,
certain amendments need to be made in the waqf enactments to be in line with the progress of waqf
implementation in the universities. Furthermore, the readiness of SIRCs to collaborate with the
administrator of a university is imperative. Mutual understanding between the parties would facilitate
the grant of approval. Autonomous powers should be given to the universities to manage their waqf
funds without disregarding the regulatory power exercised by SIRCs. Ultimately, comprehensive
rules and regulations are direly needed as a reference for the stakeholders involved.

CONCLUSION

It is irrefutable that the SIRC is the sole trustee of waqf in the respective states in Malaysia,
however, universities should be allowed to manage their waqf assets in a clear manner as entrusted
by the SIRC (Saleem, 2009). Different terms granted to the universities, especially universities in the
same state should be justifiable to avoid issues in future. SIRCs in each state should provide a
uniform guideline for a university to establish a waqf fund in their institutions and the requirements
to grant the status as al-Mutawwali should be made clear to the university. Rules and regulations
made should not benefit one party only nonetheless, the consensus of opinions from stakeholders
involved should be considered. Mutual understanding is required from both parties towards the
betterment of waqf management in a university. It is believed that to achieve this, comprehensive
rules and regulations covering the scope of powers of the SIRC as well as a clear concept concerning
mode of appointment should be clearly spelled out for the betterment of waqf management in the
university.

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The Impact of Office Environment on Employee
Performance at Penang Port Sdn Bhd

Sarah Sabir Ahmad

Faculty of Business and Management
Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Kedah

[email protected]

Norsyuhada Wazir

Faculty of Business and Management
Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Kedah

[email protected]

Azfahanee Zakaria

Faculty of Business and Management
Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Kedah

[email protected]

Mhd Azmin Mat Seman

Politeknik Sultan Abdul Halim Mua’dzam Shah
[email protected]

ABSTRACT

Office environment plays an important role in an organization. Most of the problems
faced by employees are related to the office environment. The level of productivity can be
increased through developing a conducive working environment in the organization. The basic
objective of this study is to measure the impact of the office environment on employee
performances. The research was conducted at Penang Port Sdn. Bhd. A closed ended
questionnaire was adapted and developed to get feedback from the target audience and SPSS
was utilized for analysis to derive results from the collected data. It was observed that the
factors like supervisor support, training and development and employee engagement are
helpful in developing a working environment that has a positive impact on employee’s
performance in the organizations.

Keywords: working environment, employee performance.

INTRODUCTION

Penang Port Sdn. Bhd. (PPSB) is one of the corporate units formed under the
Privatization Policy of the Malaysian Government. One of the Malaysian ports, Penang Port,
is owned and controlled by this company. The business was divided into two departments,
Corporate Support Units (CSUs) and Strategic Business Units (SBUs). Penang Port is the
premier gateway within its surrounding region for foreign trade. As we know, Penang Port
provides the best application for service and technology at the most viable price. This business
operates every day, 365 days a year, and 7 days a week, with 3 shifts 24 hours a day.

Penang Port

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certain threshold level. Haynes (2008) found the behavioral components of the working
environment have a greater effect than the physical components of the working environment
and encourage innovation and the transfer of transactional information in an environment
where the degree of interaction is strong.

SUPERVISOR SUPPORT

Supervisors can enhance their employees’ flourishing through adopting a
management style suitable for deeper organizational connectivity (Kahn & Heaphy, 2014),
Supervisors can enhance their employees’ flourishing through adopting a management style
suitable for deeper organizational connectivity (Kahn & Heaphy, 2014), and Supervisors can
enhance their employees’ flourishing through adopting a management style suitable for
deeper organizational connectivity (Kahn & Heaphy, 2014).
Employee well-being is influenced by supervisor activities (Diedericks & Rothmann, 2014)
including their desire to preserve jobs with the employer organization (Fouche,2015; Harter &
Adkins, 2015; Kouzes & Posner, 2002). Kouzes and Posner (2002) found out that workers do
not leave businesses, they leave managers. Support from supervisors refers to the degree to
which supervisors respect the efforts of workers and care for their welfare (Rasheed,Khan,&
Ramzan, 2013). This supervisor support effect is likely to be accomplished through a leader-
member sharing process that encourages employee health and retention through addressing
employee psychological needs. (Gilbert & Kelloway, 2014; Hetland, Hetland, Andreassen,
Pallesen, & Notelaers, 2011). Employees considered to be assisted by their supervisor
experience a thriving sense of workplace and physical, psychological and social well-being
(Keyes, 2013; Keyes & Annas, 2009; Seligman, 2011). Next, supervisors can improve the
prosperity of their workers by embracing a management style appropriate for deeper
organizational connectivity (Kahn & Heaphy, 2014), job satisfaction, work dedication and
general employee well-being (Kahn & Heaphy, 2014). (Mor Barak, Travis, Pyun, & Xie, 2009;
May, Gilson, & Harter, 2004; Wright, Cropanzano, & Bonett, 2007). Supportive supervisor may
inspire workers to become more involved in their jobs by fostering a sense of purpose in their
job roles (Deci & Ryan, 2011; Kahn & Heaphy, 2014). Studies, on the other hand, have found
that unsupportive supervisors play an important role in influencing employee retention. (Harter
& Adkins, 2015). Supervisor support facilitates changes in employee’s level of affective
commitment (Sadiya, 2015). Basuil et al. (2016) found that supportive supervisors generated
a common reality with employees that enhanced affective involvement, Bhatnagar (2014)
expanded Gupta et al. (2014) to find that a high degree of perceived supervisor support
generates social capital and relationship networks that minimize voluntary employee turnover
and enhance organizational performance. The supervisor represents the company and serves
as a direct connection to the mission and ideals of the organization (Haggerty, 2015).

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Training is an on-going and continuous process which aims to achieve better employee
performance through improving employee attitude and the way employees behave at work
(Mozael, 2015). It is also an action of upgrading employee skills for a specific task
(Nischithaa& Rao, 2014). According to Uma (2013), steps taken to improve knowledge, skills
and capability of an employee is known as training. It is essential for training to take place in
any organization to ensure employee’s skills are always up to par with the market standard
especially in today’s era of fast changing environment and technology, and to constantly
uphold the quality of work (Imran et al, 2014; Zahra et al, 2014; Otuko et al, 2013). With
training, employees would be able to adapt to the ever-changing situation and manage daily
work operations while maintaining or even improving their job performance, as training

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prepares employees to be ready for any huddles and also reduces employee resistance to
change (Khan et al, 2016; Shafini et al, 2016). A well-trained employee will always be aware
of his abilities, duties and responsibilities. The skills acquired can be efficiently utilized which
will enable him to work towards the goals of the organization. The majority of previous studies
indicate that human resource management strategies and organizational success have a clear
positive relationship. (Purcell et al., 2003). According to Swart et al., (2005), bridging the
performance gap relates to the introduction of a related training intervention in order to build
new employee skills and capabilities and increase employee performance. He further
elaborates the definition by explaining that training allows companies to understand that their
employees do not perform well and that their expertise, abilities and attitudes must also be
formed. There may be different explanations for poor employee performance, such as workers
may no longer feel inspired to use their talents, or may not be positive enough in their abilities,
or they may be facing conflicts between work and life. All of the above considerations must be
taken into account by the company when determining the most suitable training action, which
allows the organization to solve all problems and increase the level of motivation of employees
to engage and meet company standards by demonstrating the desired performance

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

In today's workplace, employee engagement has emerged as one of the main
challenges. Employee engagement will continue to challenge organizations with complexity
and strict rules in many organizations in the future. (Mishra, Boynton, & Mishra, 2014). This
factor challenges management because engagement is a key element in preserving the
vitality, survival, and profitability of the company. (Albercht, Bakker, Gruman, Macey, & Saks,
2015; Breevaart et al., 2013; Farndale & Murrer, 2015). Organizations with highly involved
workers have higher earnings than those that do not (Society for Human Resource
Management [SHRM], 2014). Highly engaged employee organizations experience improved
customer loyalty, revenue, and employee productivity. (Ahmetoglu, Harding, Akhtar, &
Chamorro-Premuzic, 2015; Carter, 2015; CooperThomas et al., 2014; Vandenabeele, 2014).
The organization must manage its human capital efficiently, inspire workers to retain their high
loyalty and deep commitment to the company to succeed and sustainable growth in rapid
market development and tight competition (Markos and Sridevi, 2010). Other researchers
have reviewed the application of the concept of engagement at the workplace. Arrowsmith &
Parker (2013); Francis, Ramdhony, Reddington & Staines (2013); Jenkins & Delbridge (2013);
Schaufeli, & Salanova (2008); Schein (1990); Townsend, Wilkinson, & Burgess (2014), They
essentially describe engagement as the participation of the employee's mental, physical and
cognitive work, and their degree of employee engagement can be seen from their passion and
commitment in their workplace (Gupta, et. al., 2015). Therefore, they may also show
themselves physically and emotionally in their official position or duties if the workers have
high spirit and commitment. It means that workers have a deep dedication to the business or
a strong connection to it and it is expected that their performance will increase. Boss (2014)
recommended three items to be done by leaders to build and sustain employee engagement
with the organization in order to build, strengthen and maintain employee engagement, which
are first is consistency, leaders must be consistent in providing employee feedback and
instruction. Second, communication, leaders must convey the company's vision, project plan
and policy, as well as its and third combat or clear out rumours, which means that the leaders
have to explain the background of his decision and policies, and no added negative
interpretation.

238

METHODOLOGY

This research is descriptive and correlational in nature. It is a non-contrived and cross-
sectional study. According to (Uma S. Sekaran, 2016) unit of analysis perceives as the
aggregation level of the data collected through the next data analysis phase. Unit of analysis
is the major entity that is being analysed in a study. It is the 'what' or 'who' that is being studied.
In this analysis, it focuses on the impact of the office environment on employee performances.
Therefore, the unit of analysis for this study is individual.

The respondents for this research are among the employees of Penang Port Sdn Bhd
which are employed by 1000 in this company. According to Chambers, R L, and Skinner, C J
(editors) (2003), Analysis of Survey Data, Wiley, ISBN 0-471-89987-9, sampling unit is
identified as is the basic unit, for instance person, household, pill around which a sampling
procedure is planned. Since, there are about 1000 of employees that work in Penang Port
Sdn Bhd, hence, the research will cover all the employees. With reference to Pedhazur as
cited by Sekaran (2002), the proper research exactly covers the sample size that is less than
500 and exceeds 30 respondents. Therefore, 100 units of questionnaire will be transmitted to
all employees at Penang Port Sdn Bhd. Convenience sampling is a type of non-probability
sampling in which individuals are sampled simply because researchers have "convenient"
data sources and it was employed for the sampling process of this study.

Data were collected using questionnaires. The questionnaire method was chosen
because a large sample would be targeted. The benefits of using a questionnaire are that
within a limited period of time, researchers can gather all the completed answers and quickly
face a respondent. Meanwhile, the drawbacks of the questionnaire are that there is a bias that
other employees will affect the respondent.

FINDINGS Cronbach’s Alpha No. of Items
.841 5
Study Variables .851 5
Supervisor Support .816 5
Training and Development .832 5
Employee Engagement
Employee Performances

Table above showed the result of Reliability Analysis for the variables in this study.

From the above table, the researcher found that all the variables are good as according to the
rule of thumb by Sekaran (2000). It means that the instrument used in collecting the data was

reliable and understandable by the respondents.

239

ITEMS FREQUENCIES PERCENTAGE (%)
Gender 48.4
Age Male 46 51.6
26.3
Marital Status Female 49 40.0
Education 24.2
20 – 29 years 25 9.5
Length of
Services 30 – 39 years 38 23.2
73.7
Training 40 – 49 years 23 3.2
Attended
50 years & above 9 36.8
4.2
Single 22 37.9
Married 70 17.9
Divorced 3 3.2
0
SPM and below 35
Certification 4 21.1
Diploma / STPM 36
Degree 17 16.8
Master 3 23.2
PhD 0 38.9

Less than 1 year 20 24.2

1 – 3 years 16 10.5
4 – 7 years 22 3.2
8 years & above 37 9.5
14.7
Once 23 9.5
3.2
2 times 10 10.5
3 times 3 2.1
4 times 9 5.3
5 times 14 5.3
6 times 9 1.1
7 times 3 1.1
8 times 10
9 times 2
10 times 5
11 times 5
12 times 1
14 times 1

The table above showed the results for frequency analysis of the gender, age, marital
status, education background, length of services and training attended. The respondents for
this study are 95 employees of Penang Port Sdn. Bhd.

For this study, out of the 95 respondents, 51.2% were from female employees, 40%
(38 respondents) are in the age of 30 to 39 years old, 73.7% were married and 37.9% were
Diploma holders. Most of the respondents (38.9%) have 8 years and above working
experiences in this company and 24.2% have attended only once training program during their
services in the company.

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Independent Unstandardized Standardized t Sig.
Variables Coefficients Coefficients

Supervisor Support B Std. Error Beta (β) .905 .368
.087 .096 .087

Training and .544 .103 .550 5.274 .000
Development .106 .319 3.147 .002

Employee .334
Engagement

R = .931
R Square = .867

Adjusted R square = .863

Durbin Watson = 1.588

By referring to the above table, the Multiple R shows a substantial correlation between
the three independent variables and dependent variable (R = .931). The R – square (R²) value

identifies the portion of the variance accounted for by the independent variables that are

approximately .867 of the variance in the employee performances is accounted for by
supervisor support, training and development and employee engagement. This value

indicates that these three factors are explained training transfer by 86.7%. It means that 86.7%
changes of dependent variable which is employee performances can be explained by the three

independent variables, supervisor support, training and development and employee

engagement.
The Beta (β) values indicate the relative influence of the variables that is, training and

development have the greatest influence on employee performances (β = .550, p < 0.01),
followed by employee engagement (β = .319, p < 0.05) and supervisor support (β = .087, p >

0.05). The direction of influence for all of the three variables is positive.

DISCUSSION

This study was conducted to assist Penang Port Sdn Bhd to identify the impact of office

environment on employee performances in the company and determine the positive impact of
office environment on employee performances. The purpose of conducting this research is to
describe and to identify the relationship between dependent variable which is employee

performances and independent variables which are supervisor support, training and
development and employee engagement. The first aim of the study was the relationship

between supervisor support and employee performances. There is no relationship between

supervisor support and employee performances. It is because sometimes the company is due
to different cultural where Malaysia employees prefer to work independently. So, supervisor

support is not much needed and it turns out to be insignificant.
Next, the second objective is the relationship between training and development and

employee performances. There is a significant relationship between training and development

and employee performances. So, the hypothesis is accepted because according to Swart et
al., (2005), bridging the performance gap relates to the introduction of a related training

intervention in order to build new employee skills and capabilities and increase employee

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performance. Training programs can allow employees to change their attitude to the job, which
is also a significant factor for improving their efficiency.

For the third aim that is the relationship between employee engagement and employee
performances, there is a significant relationship between employee engagement and
employee performances. It is because when employees are engaged, they are aware of their
responsibilities in organizational goals and motivate their co-workers for the achievement of
those objectives. Highly engaged employee organizations experience may improve customer
loyalty, revenue, and employee productivity. (Ahmetoglu, Harding, Akhtar, & Chamorro-
Premuzic, 2015; Carter, 2015; CooperThomas et al., 2014; Vandenabeele, 2014).

RECOMMENDATION

Schedule a one-on-one brainstorming meeting between the employee and the
supervisor

For workers who are engaging, like direct reviews, this is a perfect strategy and feel
comfortable expressing their own perspectives and opinions. It's also a chance to collaborate
and ensure that the employee and supervisor are transparent. The status of their output should
always be understood by both the supervisor and staff. If output is suffering, or it's just time
for a change, it can really make a difference to apply best practices to increase the quality and
efficiency of work.

Training doesn’t end at on boarding

Initially, new hires receive a lot of attention and direction during their boarding period,
but this should not be the only training obtained by employees. Continuous training is a vital
aspect of keeping workers motivated and empowered in new ways to think and work. Often,
when something is fresh and daunting, it's difficult to maintain too much knowledge.
Continuous contextual learning preparation helps workers to receive refreshers and follow-up
information in the event of something overlooked during initial boarding.

Foster a positive work environment

Employees who are satisfied with their office environments are also higher performing.
It shouldn't be a surprise here. When the place around you is clean and tidy and the people
around you are inspiring and optimistic, think about how different you feel. A more productive
environment can be fostered by encouraging employees to customize and de-clutter their
office. This also implies that team morale is increased and constructive contact within the team
is ensured.

CONCLUSION

The purpose of the study is to identify the relationship between supervisor support,
training and development and employee engagement among the employee performances in
Penang Port Sdn Bhd .The questionnaire have been circulated in Google form and manually
printed survey to participant for the specific purpose.100 of interviewees from the target
population were finished by the study .The analytical methods used to meet the goals are
Reliability Analysis, Frequency Distribution, Pearson Correlation Coefficient, Descriptive
Statistic and Multiple Regression.

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As a conclusion, the office environment is helpful in increasing employee’s
performances. The office environment is one of the most critical components influencing the

efficiency of workers within an organizational environment. The factors like supervisor support,
training and development and employee engagement are helpful in developing an office

environment that has a positive impact on employees’ performances in the organization. As

employees that are motivated, their performance will be increase also achieve the desired
outcomes and goals of the job.

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