Islamic finance
According to the accompanying Economic Report, Malaysia's Islamic capital market remains a leader globally through an extensive regulatory and tax framework, strong shari'ah governance and many active service providers. Bursa Malaysia runs the world's first end-to-end shari'ah compliant investment platform, and has proposed an Islamic Securities Selling and Buying Negotiated Transaction Framework as a shari'ah-compliant alternative to the existing Securities Borrowing and Lending Negotiated Transaction framework in March 2017 to further grow shari'ah-compliant securities.
Sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) is to be supported through:
- Income tax exemption for recipients of the special Green SRI Sukuk grant totalling RM6 million; and
- Income tax exemption on income from management fees to be expanded to approved conventional SRI fund managers from the years of assessment 2018 to 2020.
Appreciation for the work of religious teachers
- In recognition of the services provided by Islamic teachers and other staff engaged in the service of Islam, the government will allocate a one-off payment amounting to RM1,500 to imam, bilal, Religious and Fardu Ain (KAFA) and takmir teachers as well as tok siak*. RM1,000 will be paid in January 2018, and the balance during Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
"This will benefit more than 65,000 individuals with an allocation of almost RM100 million," PM Najib said. RM588 million is allocated monthly as an allowance for imam, bilal, KAFA and takmir teachers.
- RM50 million will be given to GiatMara for the upgrading and maintenance of wiring in all registered tahfiz (Islamic) schools nationwide in response to recent reports of fires at such schools.
- The GiatMara skills training scheme will be introduced to tahfiz school students.
Water management
- RM420 million, including almost RM300 million for Sabah and Sarawak, is allocated to provide clean water, benefitting 3,000 homes.
- A Non-Revenue Water Programme worth RM1.4 billion is to be implemented, to reduce the average loss of water;
- Construct off-river storage at a cost of RM1.3 billion as alternative water resources; and
Other initiatives include:
- An additional RM1 billion is provided to the shari'ah-compliant SME Financing Scheme, increasing the fund size to RM2.5 billion. A subsidy of 2% will be provided on profit earned to ease the costs of financing;
- About RM82 million is allocated for the development of halal industries and products under various agencies.
- RM80 million is allocated under the Rural Economic Financing Scheme (SPED) through Bank Rakyat, an Islamic cooperative bank, and SME Bank to provide financing facilities to rural bumiputera entrepreneurs.
- Construction of houses of worship funded through donations are given goods and services tax relief. This applies for construction contracts signed on or after 1 April 2017.
Explore:
The new Budget is themed Prospering An Inclusive Economy, Balancing Between Worldly And Hereafter, For The Wellbeing Of Rakyat, Towards TN50 Aspiration. Transformasi Nasional 2050 or TN50 is Malaysia's national transformation strategy between 2020 and 2050 to become one of the top 20 countries in the world, introduced in the Budget last year, and the rakyat refers to the ordinary people of Malaysia. Read the text of the 2018 Budget speech
Hashtags: #Bajet, #Bajet2018
*The imam acts as a worship leader and provides religious guidance. The bilal makes the call to prayer at designated times of the day. The tok siak works at a mosque, taking care of its cleanliness and maintenance over the course of the day. He may also conduct sacrifices and can also take over the responsibilities of the bilal or imam as required. KAFA and takmir teachers are religious teachers.
- In recognition of the services provided by Islamic teachers and other staff engaged in the service of Islam, the government will allocate a one-off payment amounting to RM1,500 to imam, bilal, Religious and Fardu Ain (KAFA) and takmir teachers as well as tok siak*. RM1,000 will be paid in January 2018, and the balance during Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
"This will benefit more than 65,000 individuals with an allocation of almost RM100 million," PM Najib said. RM588 million is allocated monthly as an allowance for imam, bilal, KAFA and takmir teachers.
- RM50 million will be given to GiatMara for the upgrading and maintenance of wiring in all registered tahfiz (Islamic) schools nationwide in response to recent reports of fires at such schools.
- The GiatMara skills training scheme will be introduced to tahfiz school students.
Water management
- RM420 million, including almost RM300 million for Sabah and Sarawak, is allocated to provide clean water, benefitting 3,000 homes.
- A Non-Revenue Water Programme worth RM1.4 billion is to be implemented, to reduce the average loss of water;
- Construct off-river storage at a cost of RM1.3 billion as alternative water resources; and
Other initiatives include:
- An additional RM1 billion is provided to the shari'ah-compliant SME Financing Scheme, increasing the fund size to RM2.5 billion. A subsidy of 2% will be provided on profit earned to ease the costs of financing;
- About RM82 million is allocated for the development of halal industries and products under various agencies.
- RM80 million is allocated under the Rural Economic Financing Scheme (SPED) through Bank Rakyat, an Islamic cooperative bank, and SME Bank to provide financing facilities to rural bumiputera entrepreneurs.
- Construction of houses of worship funded through donations are given goods and services tax relief. This applies for construction contracts signed on or after 1 April 2017.
Explore:
The new Budget is themed Prospering An Inclusive Economy, Balancing Between Worldly And Hereafter, For The Wellbeing Of Rakyat, Towards TN50 Aspiration. Transformasi Nasional 2050 or TN50 is Malaysia's national transformation strategy between 2020 and 2050 to become one of the top 20 countries in the world, introduced in the Budget last year, and the rakyat refers to the ordinary people of Malaysia. Read the text of the 2018 Budget speech
Hashtags: #Bajet, #Bajet2018
*The imam acts as a worship leader and provides religious guidance. The bilal makes the call to prayer at designated times of the day. The tok siak works at a mosque, taking care of its cleanliness and maintenance over the course of the day. He may also conduct sacrifices and can also take over the responsibilities of the bilal or imam as required. KAFA and takmir teachers are religious teachers.