Waqf (voluntary charitable endowment), zakat (obligatory charity) and sadaqah (voluntary charity) are some of the cornerstones of Islamic social finance. Their impact and benefits are far-reaching and can be seen globally. In Singapore, the Yemenis — the Alsagoff, the Aljuneid and so on — were the ones who created the waqf and the income generated from that waqf or its capital is being disbursed globally. Embracing technology has definitely helped with the implementation of these cornerstones but are there some potential drawbacks of these actions especially when it comes to the older generation? What about those who are unable to embrace technology?

In this episode, Umar Munshi, Co-Founder and Group Managing Director of Ethis Global interviews Dr Shamsiah Abdul Karim who is the CEO of PERGAS Investment Holdings, an affiliate of PERGAS, the Religious Teachers and Ulama Association Singapore. In addition, Cambridge IFA named her as one of the top 20 most influential women in Islamic Finance. Previously, she was the Senior Vice-President at Bank Muamalat, the CEO of Albukhary Foundation and Deputy Director of Asset Development at MUIS, the Islamic Religious Authority Singapore. While at MUIS, she was instrumental in setting up and operationalising their subsidiary Warees, which developed the majority of waqf land in Singapore with an asset value of more than SGD700m today. The discussion will touch on the potential and challenges of waqf as well as zakat, what she is currently working on, embracing technology and closing the gap with the older generation, how COVID-19 has affected our society as well as her advice to young people today.

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