Optimising under-utilised waqf assets in Malaysia through social entrepreneurship

A waqf is a charitable perpetual property whose interest and usufruct can be extracted without consuming the property itself. Malaysia has grown enormous waqf assets. Nonetheless, the potential is not fully utilized because of the difficulty in terms of management. The aim of this paper is to propose a model based on two social entrepreneurship angles which are creating sustainable business ventures and innovating products that could effectively optimize underutilized waqf lands in Malaysia. This qualitative research applies secondary data collected from scientific directory analysis and library research including papers and precedents on waqf. A Comparative approach was used to correlate analogous model that is currently practised in Indonesia. The data was then analyzed using legal and historical interpretation to determine the model's commercial viability. These findings suggest an equity crowdfunding platform as an innovative method to optimize underutilized waqf assets. In order to measure the desirability and perceived feasibility among contributors in Malaysia of this model, a theory of planned behavior was suggested. Since social entrepreneurship necessitates innovative products and profits, the researcher believes that using equity crowdfunding to create a new waqf model could potentially generate continuous income and wealth for the benefit of the country.