ID :
53468
Thu, 04/02/2009 - 16:19
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/53468
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WASTAGE AN ACT OF ECONOMIC INJUSTICE
ZULKIPLE IBRAHIM
KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Bernama) -- "Islam holds that wastage is a source of injury both to the individual who possesses the wealth and to the society in which he lives".
That was an excerpt from the article 'An Islamic Approach To Economic
Justice' by the Malaysian Institute of Islamic Understanding (IKIM) Deputy
Director-General Nik Mustapha Nik Hassan sent to Bernama recently.
According to Nik Mustapha, wastage and improper utilisation of available
resources are acts of economic injustice or 'dzulm'.
Waste in this sense means undertaking unnecessary consumption expenditures
and inefficiency in production activities.
Nik Mustapha stated that such misuse is therefore an evil thing, which is
incumbent for the society to change in order to prevent its own ruin by this
means.
Wastage is a disease, which is basically individual, but when the community
complies with it and does not check such an evil, then it becomes a negative
factor to the society's development.
He also stated that economic inefficiency in identifying, coordinating and
utilizing resources could contribute to economic injustices. The acquisition
of skills for proper and efficient management of the country's resources is in
line with the spirit of justice.
He stated that freedom to decide and participate in economic activities
guided by religious principles is a pre-requisite for economic justice.
According to Nik Mustapha, individual freedom is in the nature of man and
Islam's supreme approach to go along with individual freedom is the
synthesisation of ethics and economic activities.
Islam also recognizes the right of every citizen in an Islamic state to be
safeguarded from undue encroachment on the privacy of his life.
The Quran (Al-Baqarah: 188) also reminds: "Do not devour one another's
wealth by false and illegal means".
Thus justice demands that the social system shall conform to the desires of
the individual and satisfy his inclination, at least as far as these will not
injure the society, wrote Nik Mustapha.
Islam has from the very beginning recognised the position of government in
economic management.
In every organized society, there must be an authority to oversee,
coordinate the economy and provide the direction for it to move. The
functions of government are basically allocative, distributive and to achieve
economic stability.
Nik Mustapha stated that these functions are very much in line with the
spirit of justice.
However, the government is required to undertake certain expenditures to
carry out these functions. Some of these expenditures are ordained by the
Syariah on a permanent basis like to maintain administrative machinery, law and
order, defence , dissemination of Islam and others.
In order to undertake these expenditures, the government has to formulate a
proper revenue system in line with the spirit of justice.
'Zakat'(tithe) is the minimum revenue that can be raised among the Muslim
community on a permanent basis.
Nik Mustapha wrote this revenue is restricted in its purpose but basically
it can be used to address the problem of poverty, economic hardship and the
propagation and defence of religion.
Taxes can also be imposed when it is deemed necessary.
However a heavy dose of taxation will reduce the disposable income of the
private sector and the decline of the private sector's income may reduce its
choice to act voluntarily.
Nik Mustapha stated that since the spirit of justice highly signifies the
individual liberty through voluntary action, the government's imposition must
try not to curtail this freedom.
It is common belief that the lowering of the tax rate will eventually raise
the government's revenue from taxation. As the economy of the private sector
flourishes, the tax base widens and the total tax revenue increases, he added.
-- BERNAMA
KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Bernama) -- "Islam holds that wastage is a source of injury both to the individual who possesses the wealth and to the society in which he lives".
That was an excerpt from the article 'An Islamic Approach To Economic
Justice' by the Malaysian Institute of Islamic Understanding (IKIM) Deputy
Director-General Nik Mustapha Nik Hassan sent to Bernama recently.
According to Nik Mustapha, wastage and improper utilisation of available
resources are acts of economic injustice or 'dzulm'.
Waste in this sense means undertaking unnecessary consumption expenditures
and inefficiency in production activities.
Nik Mustapha stated that such misuse is therefore an evil thing, which is
incumbent for the society to change in order to prevent its own ruin by this
means.
Wastage is a disease, which is basically individual, but when the community
complies with it and does not check such an evil, then it becomes a negative
factor to the society's development.
He also stated that economic inefficiency in identifying, coordinating and
utilizing resources could contribute to economic injustices. The acquisition
of skills for proper and efficient management of the country's resources is in
line with the spirit of justice.
He stated that freedom to decide and participate in economic activities
guided by religious principles is a pre-requisite for economic justice.
According to Nik Mustapha, individual freedom is in the nature of man and
Islam's supreme approach to go along with individual freedom is the
synthesisation of ethics and economic activities.
Islam also recognizes the right of every citizen in an Islamic state to be
safeguarded from undue encroachment on the privacy of his life.
The Quran (Al-Baqarah: 188) also reminds: "Do not devour one another's
wealth by false and illegal means".
Thus justice demands that the social system shall conform to the desires of
the individual and satisfy his inclination, at least as far as these will not
injure the society, wrote Nik Mustapha.
Islam has from the very beginning recognised the position of government in
economic management.
In every organized society, there must be an authority to oversee,
coordinate the economy and provide the direction for it to move. The
functions of government are basically allocative, distributive and to achieve
economic stability.
Nik Mustapha stated that these functions are very much in line with the
spirit of justice.
However, the government is required to undertake certain expenditures to
carry out these functions. Some of these expenditures are ordained by the
Syariah on a permanent basis like to maintain administrative machinery, law and
order, defence , dissemination of Islam and others.
In order to undertake these expenditures, the government has to formulate a
proper revenue system in line with the spirit of justice.
'Zakat'(tithe) is the minimum revenue that can be raised among the Muslim
community on a permanent basis.
Nik Mustapha wrote this revenue is restricted in its purpose but basically
it can be used to address the problem of poverty, economic hardship and the
propagation and defence of religion.
Taxes can also be imposed when it is deemed necessary.
However a heavy dose of taxation will reduce the disposable income of the
private sector and the decline of the private sector's income may reduce its
choice to act voluntarily.
Nik Mustapha stated that since the spirit of justice highly signifies the
individual liberty through voluntary action, the government's imposition must
try not to curtail this freedom.
It is common belief that the lowering of the tax rate will eventually raise
the government's revenue from taxation. As the economy of the private sector
flourishes, the tax base widens and the total tax revenue increases, he added.
-- BERNAMA
