Posted On October 19, 2009

JCORP’S BUSINESS JIHAD JOURNEY:
MILESTONES ON THE CORPORATE WAQAF ROUTE
(Up to end September, 2009)

JCorp’s Business Jihad journey has been one long, carefully thought out corporate transformation process, culminating in its bold move to transfer strategic assets into a Corporate Waqaf entity specially established for that purpose. Corporate Waqaf is indeed a definitive institutional form for Business Jihad, derived from one of Islam’s earliest innovations that were instrumental in creating the revolutionary and overwhelming impact that Islam had on human civilization.

JCorp’s Business Jihad journey on the Corporate Waqaf route had five major defining milestones. These are moves or steps deliberately and carefully taken, firstly to familiarize JCorp’s own people with both the Business Jihad and Corporate Waqaf concepts.

Corporate Waqaf is a totally unprecedented entity, and such new, unfamiliar and innovative change can be unsettling and even perceived as threatening by some. Thus there was obviously a need to incrementally develop, introduce and explain the merits of the concepts to everyone involved for them to buy into the ideas and take ownership for their successful adoption.

There was also a need to introduce the rationale and explain the logic of such concepts, especially the Corporate Waqaf entity, to the Johor Islamic religious authorities. For it is obviously legally impossible to turn such ideas into reality without their full support, cooperation and endorsement.

JCorp was fortunate in having two successive Johor Muftis who were daring and farsighted enough to recognise the merits of both its Business Jihad and Corporate Waqaf innovations. Alhamdulillah, the two distinguished Muftis, namely the late Allah yarham Dato’ Haji Ahmad Awang for the first phase, and Dato’ Haji Nooh Gadot in the more significant Corporate Waqaf second phase, had given unreserved support and commitment towards the materialization of both concepts.

Finally, JCorp owes it to the bold wisdom and farsightedness of its Board of Directors under the Chairmanship of Dato’ Haji Abdul Ghani Othman, the Menteri Besar of Johor. Without the Board’s encouragement and formal approval nothing would have been achieved.

The five major steps taken are summarized as follows:-

THE FIRST STEP - CONVENTIONAL WAQAF

The idea for Business Jihad was first thought of as early as in the second half of the 1980s. During this early period, the most significant strategic move that had enabled subsequent materialization of Business Jihad and Corporate Waqaf concepts was the successful introduction of JCorp’s unique “Intrapreneur” concept in its business practice and for its corporate development. (Watch out for a special posting later on JCorp’s “Intrapreneurshp” approach in entrepreneur development).

The first time the term “Business Jihad” as a concept was ever recorded, though, was in a book written by CEO JCorp in 1995, entitled “Membujur Lalu… Satu pengalaman orang Melayu dalam pengurusan”.

Corporate Waqaf, as a definitive and unique corporate entity meant to serve as a vehicle to translate Business Jihad into reality was thought out much later. This had taken place after a period of more than two decades of business practice by JCorp along the intrapreneuring and Business Jihad principles. It was only then that JCorp had finally, and formally, established Waqaf An Nur Corporation Bhd (originally named Kumpulan Waqaf an Nur Bhd).

The move towards Corporate Waqaf was, however, a carefully phased one, intended especially to first of all familiarize JCorp’s own team of people with the concept.

Corporate Waqaf, being totally unprecedented, had also to be established in stages, as JCorp had to carefully introduce the new concept to the Johor Religious Authorities as well. More so with the fact that, in order for it to succeed, management responsibility for the assets thus transferred to waqaf had to be vested back to JCorp, or to be precise, to Waqaf an Nur Corporation Bhd, the special entity created for it by JCorp.

This is an absolute departure from the conventional waqaf norm. All conventional waqafs had traditionally been fully vested for trust ownership to be directly managed by the Waqaf Department of the Religious Authorities. Corporate Waqaf, however, had admittedly to be treated differently, as the Religious Authorities are totally unprepared and unequipped to manage such business-related assets.

Thus the first familiarisation step was taken simply through the establishment of a mosque, namely Masjid An Nur, Plaza Kotaraya, that had been built earlier, in 1992, by JCorp. The key step was taken when the mosque was registered as JCorp’s conventional waqaf, in October, 2000. There was, however, one small departure from the norm here. JCorp had been able to convince the religious authorities for the mosque to be staffed, managed and funded fully by it.

This conventional waqaf move, was also intended to establish a working relationship with, and hence gain the total confidence of the religious authorities of JCorp’s Business Jihad and Corporate Waqaf future plans and intentions.

SECOND STEP - ESTABLISHMENT OF JCORP’S CHAIN OF THE SO CALLED “CORPORATE MOSQUES’, LOCATED AT SHOPPING MALLS

ENDOWMENT TO WAQAF OF JCORP’S ASSETS

Masjid An-Nur Kotaraya that was first established in 1992 also made history when it became the first mosque in Malaysia to be located in a shopping complex. With a total built up area of 8,639 sq.ft, the mosque serves as a religious facility to accommodate up to maximum 1,000 Muslim congregates during a particular prayer session.

The waqaf of Masjid An-Nur Kotaraya by Johor Corporation was subsequently followed by the construction, waqaf and management of 6 other mosques. Three of these mosques were also built in malls and shopping complexes. In Pasir Gudang alone, JCorp had also built and managed three mosques. (Johor Corporation was vested by the Johor Government with the powers of a Local Authority for Pasir Gudang for more than three decades from 1st July, 1977 to 3rd September, 2009).

MOSQUES MANAGED BY JCORP AS AT END SEPTEMBER, 2009:

Apart from these mosques, Waqaf An-Nur also monitors mosques and suraus built in plantations owned by Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad, a JCorp subsidiary company. The number of these mosques and suraus are as follows:-

i) Mosques - 10
ii) Suraus - 3 (with Friday prayers)
iii) Surau - 22 (without Friday prayers)

Total - 35

THIRD STEP - THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHAIN OF WAQAF AN-NUR CLINICS AS JCORP’S ISLAMIC CSR PROGRAM SPECIALLY FOR BENEFIT OF THE POOR OF ALL ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND

Johor Corporation established its first Waqaf An-Nur Clinic located at Plaza Kotaraya in the year of 1998 in collaboration with KPJ Healthcare Berhad (the Specialist Healthcare Business Division of the JCorp Group), to be managed also by Waqaf An-Nur Corporation Berhad.

By the end of Jun 2009 there was a network of 8 Waqaf An-Nur Clinics in Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Sarawak and one Waqaf An-Nur Hospital in Pasir Gudang, Johor.

The establishment of the network of Waqaf clinics has had a tremendous impact, especially in benefiting the poor, as the clinics, staffed by qualified doctors and nurses, charge only a nominal RM5 for every treatment, inclusive of medicine. All clinics are also equipped with dialysis centres to cater to patients with kidney disorders.

Many among the poorest of patients also have access to Baitulmal and charitable support for free treatments offered by contributors to the Waqaf, as well as through contributions from Johor Islamic Religious Council (Majlis Agama Islam Johor), the Malaysian Ministry of Health, Baitulmal (Johor, Negri Sembilan and Sarawak) SOCSO, and other charitable organisations.

Though all clinics (with only two exceptions), are located at mosque compounds, it is noteworthy that out of the 505,053 patients served by the Waqaf An Nur chain of clinics and hospital (up to end of August, 2009), a total of 28,833 were non Muslims.

Locating Waqaf Clinics at mosque premises is also intended to widen the scope and role that mosques play and expand it beyond just being a spiritual center and for Islamic congregational prayers only. The Waqaf An-Nur Clinics and Dialysis Centers have turned mosques to become more people and community-friendly institutions that also serve to address real problems faced by the community they serve.

The total number of patients receiving treatment at the Pasir Gudang Waqaf An-Nur Hospital up to end August, 2009 is as follows:-

A total of 113 kidney patients had received dialysis treatment from the Waqaf Hospital and WANC chain. These dialysis centres are equipped with a total of 52 dialysis machines. Listed below are the number of machines and the breakdown of patients according to Clinics/Hospitals:

The source of financial support for kidney patients who received treatments at the Waqaf An-Nur Hospital and WANC are as follows:

FOURTH STEP - EQUITY WAQAF: A CLOSER MOVE TOWARDS COPORATE WAQAF

The next critical move on the Corporate Waqaf route was taken on 11 July 2005. On that date, Johor Corporation had transferred into waqaf 75 percent of itss equity stake in a private limited company, namely Tiram Travel Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of JCorp established on 22 February 1982.

Choice of Tiram Travel was deliberate, as its core business is the handling of Hajj pilgrimage and Umrah travel packages, a business not only familiar to the Religious Authorities, but one that also has direct link to one of Islam’s 5 pillars.

More so with the fact that Tiram Travel had also successfully launched its own highly successful Mutawwifs development program. (Mutawwifs are official Umrah and Hajj guides, also trained as travel and tour professionals providing full and comprehensive service to pilgrims).

FIFTH STEP - ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WORLD’S FIRST CORPORATE WAQAF

On 3rd August 2006, Johor Corporation made history when it took the bold, definitive step towards transforming itself into a full-fledged Trust Corporate Institution via the Islamic ‘waqaf’ approach. This “Corporate Waqaf” move involved the transfer to Waqaf RM200 million (on Net Asset Value basis) of JCorp’s shareholdings in its public listed subsidiaries involving 12.35 million share units (i.e. 4.68% of shares issued) in Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad, 18.60 million shares (9.25%) in KPJ Healthcare Berhad and 4.32 million shares (3.57%) in Johor Land Berhad.

All these shares were then registered under the name of Waqaf An-Nur Corporation Berhad.

Through the Deeds or instrument of Waqaf, Waqaf An Nur Corporation Berhad, a company established by JCorp and limited by its corporate guarantee was vested by the Johor Religious Authorities with the powers of Maukuf Alaihi, granting it the powers of a Mutawwali to manage and discharge the ownershp responsibilities of the equity now owned by the Waqaf Corporation.

Even though these are currently minority equity positions, this move had opened the door for future waqafs of JCor’ps equity if it so decides to transfer them to waqaf. Thus theoretically, this move, and the establishment of Waqaf An Nur Corporation had enabled a true Waqaf Corporation to function to also be in a controlling position over companies and business operations that operate in the market.

An example of what is possible in the future in fact took place in December, 2007. JCorp had endowed 61% of its shares in TPM Management Sdn Bhd (at NTA value of RM50.33 million then) that brought the total amount value of shares being endowed by JCorp under Corporate Waqaf to exceed RM258 million on net asset value basis.

TPM Management Sdn Bhd is a JCorp Group company that owns Larkin Sentral, a shopping center that includes a bus and taxi terminal strategically located in Johor Bahru. The endowment of controlling interests in TPM Management Sdn Bhd marked another new milestone in JCorp’s Business Jihad journey on the Corporate Waqaf route. For Larkin Sentral is perhaps the world’s first shopping mall to be controlled and managed under Corporate Waqaf ownership!

Performance of Company with Waqaf Shares (at end June, 2009)

CONCLUSION – THE NEXT LAP ON CORPORATE WAQAF ROUTE

In a global economic system that is spearheaded by big corporations and MNCs created by the capitalistic West, the Muslim business community has little choice other than to mobilize their energies and resources on a similarly sustainable, structured and organized basis. The one thing the Muslim ummah cannot afford to do in economic and business organisation, however, is to emulate the methods and practices of the West, however successful and empowering they have been for the West.

These Western corporate creations were designed to function, succeed and win from the perspective of an uncaring, adversarial and even predatory business mindset. Furthermore, as an institution, they had their roots linked to past Western colonialism that was principally designed over the centuries as instruments of economic domination, exploitation and to subjugate others. It is no surprise that many of today’s MNCs and their entrepreneur leaders often display traits of behaviour, attitudes and values that are greed-driven tainted with imperialistic economic ambitions. Thus the Muslim ummah does not have the luxury of blindly adopting these corporate organization types that were crafted and designed to exploit, dominate, control and monopolise!

Nevertheless, organize they must! One powerful option is to adopt and adapt the waqaf to suit the corporate competitive advantage needs for size and critical mass, and yet retain its institutional potential to serve a higher Islamic cause. Muslims do therefore have a choice to attain access to corporate and business-driven economic empowerment; yet through waqaf, they can achieve all these without having to compromise on their higher Islamic aspirations and ideals. They can indeed succeed in managing this paradox through making a success of “Corporate Waqaf”.

JCorp’s Corporate Waqaf initiatives are still small, initial steps on its Business Jihad journey. And this journey will be arduous and long, taking perhaps centuries to accomplish. There are obviously many routes to ultimate success. The more important thing that Muslims, especially Muslim businessmen, must embark on is to risk the journey, for they obviously cannot afford to do nothing, nor just do more of the same.

The Corporate Waqaf route taken by Johor Corporation provides one possible road map. It is a road map that still needs exploring, step by step, and milestone by milestone, and this JCorp is determined to accomplish.

Over time, insya Allah, through the mass effort of such corporate waqafs, as well as other sustainable, organized effort such as autonomous GLCs and through organised individual entrepreneurial success, together Muslims can embark on a Business Jihad journey to re-empower the ummah and redefine ciivilisation in Islamic terms as is their fundamental duty and obligation.

Muhammad Ali,
29th September, 2009