LEGAL AND SHARI'AH ISSUES IN TAKAFUL AGENTS IN MALAYSIA: AN OVERVIEW

Abstract

This article aims at inter alia highlighting some important legal issues pertaining to Takaful agents in Malaysia. With the Takaful industry transcending the conventional insurance market locally and globally, Takaful agents have become an important tool in the recent development in the Takaful industry. Hence, the discussion will touch on the legal and Shari’ah position and the rights and liabilities of the Takaful agents parallel to promote and protect and maintain Takaful agents. This article fills that gap by providing specific recommendations regarding to Takaful agents in the Takaful industry. This article is intended to outline a more realistic and nuanced view, based on law and Shari’ah analytical techniques. It is intended to suggest the reasons why legal framework could be an appropriate platform to determine these issues on Takaful agents. Insofar as the current law’s definition of Takaful agent was ambiguity. Yet, there is no legal framework solely supervises the Takaful agents’ institutions as a representative or good spokesman. This problem leads to the possibility such as unethical or illegal conduct of the agents. With the regulatory framework for Takaful agents, it is hoped that Takaful agents should possess Islamic values and practices in order to aware that the main objective of Takaful is an Islamic alternative to conventional insurance. This article is setting out to provide a sound regulatory framework for Takaful agents in Malaysia. Thus, the regulation is needed to enhance confidence amongst participants and investors as well as to ensure stability in the Takaful industry worldwide is thus necessary. Conversely, it is intended to suggest a way to predict when these issues might best be determined through more specific legislative mechanism. This article gives some important implications for various groups like Takaful agents, Takaful operator as well as the regulators in reflecting just that determines the demand for Takaful agents in Takaful services and products in Malaysia.