The Perception of Brunei Community towards the Islamic Banking System in Brunei

Abstract

In expanding the growth and development of the Islamic banking system, its respective banking and financial institutions' roles do not stop at providing services related to solutions for asset and monetary crises. More importantly, these institutions must also provide solutions for problems and difficulties arising from the Islamic muamalat law. Therefore, it is vital to rise consumers' awareness and understanding about the system itself, as this is a key factor in the effort to upgrade the economy of the country. The first Islamic bank in Brunei has been operating for more than 15 years and throughout this period it has successfully established a variety of banking services and facilities. In spite of these accomplishments, disputes, are still arising, especially around the efficiency of the Islamic banking system Some are not quite convinced of the reliability of Islamic institution in providing financial services compared to conventional banks. This research aims to observe the extent of the community's awareness and its perceptions towards the implementation of the Islamic banking system in Islamic banking and financial institutions in Brunei. The research involved 650 respondents, and it employed-field study as its method, which entailed that questionnaires were distributed to a large area of Brunei, after which the inputs were recorded by means of the Statistical Package for Social Studies (SPSS) for charting and graphic representation. Based on the research, the author has found that the perceptions and level of understanding of Brunei's community with respect to the Islamic banking system has reached a sensible degree, although at a certain level there are still unsatisfactory outcomes. Hence, the author makes suggestions to efficiently upgrade the community's perception and its level of understanding about Islamic banking system, with a particular focus on the Muslim community. The research findings aim to provide evidence that the Islamic banking system has the capacity and capability to provide financial services at a level required by its clients, and on par with convectional banking and financial institutions.