Family dispute among causes of RM70 billion in frozen inheritance

SHAH ALAM - Dispute among big families and heirs is among the causes of RM70 billion in inheritance assets in the country had been frozen.

Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) deputy secretary (operations) Norzaihan Mohd Zain said among the other reasons were the lack of understanding on the management methods and procedures of inheritance.

Therefore, she said that it was crucial for Muslims to bear in mind the importance of syariah-based property management which was more systematic.

"Mais provides planning services and inheritance such as wills, hibah (gifts) and inheritance assets.

"I hope we can use Mais' platform to implement property management to prevent problems related to conflicts and misunderstandings and further harmonise a family institution," she said.

She said this during the launching of the Inheritance Seminar and Selangor Faraid Month 2023 ceremony at Dewan Syarahan dan Muzakarah Islam, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque, today.

Norzaihan revealed that Selangor had pioneered the introduction of laws on Muslim properties such as the Selangor Waqf Enactment 1999 which was amended in 2015 and the Muslim Wills (Selangor) Enactment 1999 which was later emulated by other states.

She said so far, Mais has handled over 3,000 wills and 2,500 grant documents since 2006.

She added that Mais had also handled more than 1,500 files of inheritance under Baitulmal since 1970 until now.

"These figures show that Mais is committed to the Muslims' property management especially in this state," she said.

She also announced that Mais will hold a Faraid month in the state for a whole month which started on Aug 18.

"This event will run until Sept 15 and hopefully, more Muslims will become aware of the matter and seek knowledge in property management," she said.