Waqf land administration and registration: legal analysis

The conflict in registration of waqf land in Malaysia has been prolonged for such a long time particularly in Penang. This conflict has contributed to the major setback in development of waqf land. This paper aims to examine the procedure in registration of waqf land from legal perspective with reference to provisions in National Land Code 1965 and the state law under Administration of The Religious of Islam (State of Penang) Enactment 2004. The methodology used in this paper was qualitative and content legal analysis method. This paper found there were inadequacy and insufficiency in administration and registration of waqf enactment in Malaysia. There were also lacuna in National Land Code 1965 and obscure and uncertain in creation and registration of waqf land. This paper concludes that Penang State Islamic Religious Council (SIRC) is in dire need to enact a specific law relating to administration and registration of waqf land in Penang together with a major plan to reform and strengthen the power of Syariah Court in addressing the issue of registration of waqf land in Penang