Strengthening the Shariah Governance Structure in Islamic Cooperative Sector

This study aims to review the strength of Shariah governance in the cooperative sector. This study used a sample of 10 representatives from cooperatives, some from small, medium, and large cooperatives. They have 3–5 years of experience working in cooperatives. The sampling method was chosen for those who work in Islamic cooperatives as the study want to go deeper on Sharia governance. This study uses qualitative and thematic analysis methods in analyzing the data and is divided into three categories: Shariah audit, Shariah review, and Shariah risk. The results of the study prove that there is a deficiency on the part of the Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia (SKM) in providing appropriate guidelines for auditing conducted in cooperatives. Shariah review is still at an early stage to be practiced in cooperatives, but there are cooperatives that have already conducted Shariah review. Specifically, Shariah audits and reviews are two of the important factors that will strengthen the Shariah governance structure in the cooperative sector. In addition, Shariah risk is also one of the important elements in strengthening Shariah governance to reduce Shariah non-compliance that may be faced by Islamic cooperatives. However, the research findings for Shariah risk are few because Shariah audits and reviews are still in their early stages. The findings of this study show that cooperatives and cooperative’s management need to work hand in hand to further strengthen the Shariah governance structure on the part of cooperatives, considering that cooperatives are still at an early stage in Islamic finance.