TMR

by AUFA MARDHIAH

MALAYSIA has launched its first Social Exchange initiative to widen access to social impact financing for non-profit organisations (NPO) through a regulated fundraising avenue.

Securities Commission Malaysia chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi said the initiative would provide a transparent ecosystem for eligible social impact projects to raise donations.

“The Social Exchange is where capital meets compassion. By providing a regulated and transparent ecosystem, we are not just facilitating donations, we are also building trust,” he said at the launch ceremony today (May 25).

Under the initiative, SC has appointed LC Wakaful Digital Sdn Bhd as Malaysia’s first Social Exchange platform operator for the initial phase.

LC Wakaful Digital’s platform, ImpakRintas, went live earlier this year with an initial group of six non-profit organisations and social impact projects listed.

It has since onboarded eight NPOs covering healthcare access, food security, youth development, palliative care and environmental sustainability.

The eight projects currently listed on ImpakRintas have combined fundraising targets of more than RM22 million.

Among the largest are MySkills Foundation’s Project STAR for at-risk youth, which is seeking RM7.87 million, Food Aid Foundation’s nationwide food security initiative targeting RM6.29 million, and the National Cancer Society Malaysia’s Homes of Hope programme seeking RM3.57 million.

Other participating organisations include OrphanCare Foundation, Pertubuhan Tindakan Wanita Islam Malaysia (Pertiwi), YOKUK, Pertubuhan Kebajikan Nourish Malaysia and Suriana Welfare Society Malaysia.

Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong, who officiated the launch, said the government recognised that support was needed to encourage early participation in the Social Exchange.

“As with any early endeavours, the government recognises that support is needed to catalyse greater participation. Under the 2026 federal budget, a RM2 million grant has been allocated to help lower the cost of non-profit organisations participating on this platform,” he said.

He added that the platform would progressively expand participation to include social enterprises and community-based initiatives, while exploring additional market-based avenues supporting social and climate-resilient outcomes.

Liew said the initiative showed that the capital market could support social development beyond its traditional role of mobilising financial returns.

“It is not just an initiative but this initiative is a statement. It’s a statement that we are not just thinking about the capital market just for money but capital market for purpose,” he said.

The platform, he said, marked a shift towards purpose-driven finance as Malaysia faces long-term challenges ranging from youth employment and wages to ageing, social safety nets and climate resilience.

On whether the grant would be allocated annually, Liew said the government would first assess the platform’s impact before considering further support.

He said the broader intention was for the Social Exchange to deepen Malaysia’s social finance infrastructure by building a credible pipeline of social impact projects and improving governance and reporting standards for the third sector.

“The most important question is trust. So this platform creates trust and this will enable corporations which have both social responsibility but also a responsibility to their shareholders to ensure that they can do more with trust,” he said.

Furthermore, Liew said the third sector should not be seen only as non-profit, as it could also include regulated social enterprises and private entities that serve a social function.

This, he said, would help move the debate beyond the usual public-private divide by creating room for organisations that are social in orientation while still operating through market mechanisms.

The listed projects range from community palliative care and school nutrition programmes to support for homeless women, food waste reduction and vocational training for vulnerable youths.

SC said the platform enables individual and corporate donors to gain greater visibility into social impact projects while improving accountability and funding transparency.

Three corporate donors have already committed RM60,000 through the platform, with Zurich General Takaful Malaysia Bhd contributing RM30,000, Yayasan Waqaf Malaysia RM25,000 and Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd RM5,000.

The initiative is a key deliverable under the Capital Market Masterplan 2026–2030 Sustainability Pillar and aligns with priorities under the 13th Malaysia Plan.

Donations made through the Social Exchange are eligible for tax treatment under the Income Tax Act 1967.

As the ecosystem matures, Liew said the government hoped to see wider participation from institutional and individual donors, social enterprises and communities, as well as projects linked to environmental conservation and climate resilience.

The post SC launches Social Exchange to widen impact financing for NPOs appeared first on The Malaysian Reserve.

For SNCC, the more important issue is whether the world can see that the Gaza blockade can be challenged through lawful channels 

by AUFA MARDHIAH 

THE Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) mission should not be viewed only through whether its vessels reached Gaza, but through the legal pressure it has created against the blockade. 

Sumud Nusantara Command Centre (SNCC) DG Datuk Sani Araby Abdul Alim Araby said the mission was part of a wider effort to test and expose the legal, maritime and diplomatic limits of Israel’s restrictions on Gaza. 

He said the flotilla should not be measured through what he described as Israel’s preferred narrative — that the vessels were stopped, the aid did not arrive and the mission had failed. 

“It was not merely a mission where we went, returned home and were then labelled as having failed. 

“That is if we read it from the narrative arranged by the coloniser — that the aid did not arrive, people lost money and the mission failed. But from the perspective of those who read and observe critically, the occupier can actually be defeated,” he told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR). 

Instead, Sani said the mission’s larger objective was to show that humanitarian access to Gaza could still be pursued through recognised international legal routes, including maritime rights, declarations, documentation and accountability mechanisms. 

Sani said the flotilla had helped validate the argument that a maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza remains a lawful route that the world should not abandon. 

To him, Israel’s interception of the vessels showed that the regime feared the mission would create a precedent for other countries and humanitarian actors to use the same route. 

“Their concern is that if we (the flotilla) succeed in reaching the shores of Gaza, the world will begin using this route because it has been validated,” he said. 

For that reason, the mission should not be judged only by whether the vessels reached Gaza, but by how the interception exposed the legal and political questions surrounding the blockade. 

Sani pointed out that the mission relied on several principles under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), particularly freedom of navigation on the high seas and the right of ships to sail under a registered flag. 

Article 87 of UNCLOS recognises the freedom of the high seas, including freedom of navigation, while Article 90 states that every state has the right to sail ships flying its flag on the high seas. 

He also referred to Article 110, which deals with the right of visit by warships, arguing that any interference with foreign civilian vessels on the high seas must fall within specific legal grounds. 

To support that position, the flotilla had departed from recognised ports, including Barcelona in Spain, Catania in Italy and Marmaris in Turkiye, with manifests declaring the items carried on board. 

Sani added that such documentation was important because it showed that the vessels were not operating outside normal maritime procedures. 

Blockade Itself Disputed 

Beyond the interception, geopolitical analyst Prof Azmi Hassan highlighted the more basic legal question — whether the blockade itself can be justified. 

He said the blockade affected Gaza’s maritime territory and extended into international waters, where freedom of navigation is recognised under UNCLOS. 

“The blockade was never legal. It is illegal because the blockade is on the maritime territory of Gaza, which is 12 nautical miles and including the international waters,” he told TMR. 

Azmi said the vessels did not breach Israeli waters as they were stopped in international waters before they could enter Gaza’s 12-nautical-mile territorial waters, which he described as Gaza’s maritime sovereign area. 

He added that Gaza’s territorial waters should fall under the responsibility of the authority administering Gaza, rather than Israel. 

As the flotilla’s mission is legal under international law, especially UNCLOS, Azmi said Israel could not justify the interception by relying on the blockade if that in itself was disputed and unlawful under international law. 

His view reinforces Sani’s argument that the flotilla’s significance lies not only in aid delivery, but in testing the legal and maritime restrictions imposed on Gaza. 

Beyond the maritime question, the legal significance of the mission was often missed when the narrative was reduced to whether aid reached Gaza or whether participants were detained. 

For SNCC, the more important issue was whether the world could see that the Gaza blockade could be challenged through lawful channels. 

Sani said international law had become one of the most important pressure points in the Palestinian struggle, particularly as the movement was not pursuing a military route. 

He highlighted the International Criminal Court (ICC) as an example of how legal accountability could carry real consequences for Israeli leaders. 

“To hold the world’s criminals accountable using the soft power we have — that is what is happening now,” he said. 

The flotilla helps validate the argument that a maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza remains a lawful route that the world should not abandon (Pic courtesy by SNCC)

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant on Nov 21, 2024, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe they bore criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. 

Sani said such legal mechanisms mattered because they could affect the movement, credibility and international standing of Netanyahu, Gallant and others named in war crimes proceedings. 

He said an ICC warrant could restrict Netanyahu’s travel to countries that recognise the court’s jurisdiction, expose him to arrest upon arrival, damage his political credibility at home and create wider pressure on Israel’s economy if countries or investors became reluctant to engage with a government led by figures facing international legal action. 

Sani said this was why the ICC process should be seen as part of the “soft power” available to the global public. 

“The ICC should be seen as an achievement held by the people of the world, through the collective effort we are carrying out,” he said. 

Taken together, he said the flotilla formed part of a larger ecosystem of lawful pressure, alongside declarations, sanctions, international legal complaints and global civil society mobilisation. 

On May 21, Sani said all 428 activists, including 29 Malaysians, who were intercepted on May 20 had been released. 

The activists were transferred to Ramon Airport in Israeli territory before travelling to Istanbul on three Turkish government-sponsored flights, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dispatched aircraft following communication with PM Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. 

The release came amid global condemnation over the treatment of detainees, after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir released a video showing flotilla activists kneeling with their hands bound following the interception. 

SNCC also said legal teams from Centhra and Adalah were ready at Ashdod port, while at least 87 detainees had begun a hunger strike over what they described as unlawful detention and mistreatment. 

Malaysia’s Role In Wider Coalition 

Against this backdrop, Malaysia’s role through Sumud Nusantara must be understood within the wider international movement, rather than as a standalone Malaysian mission. 

Sani pointed out that Malaysia’s role was reflected in the command centre structure, early access to information and the presence of legal teams that helped make the mission more organised. 

“For Malaysia, we are not just mere participants, we are part of organising something big, we are leading in certain things,” he said. 

Although Malaysia’s strength was not in military power, he highlighted the country’s ability to bring together government support, civil society, legal experts, media workers, religious figures, youth and regional partners around one cause. 

At the same time, the mission would have been more vulnerable without domestic support from the government and other segments of society. 

“Government recognition gave participants, including doctors and captains, confidence that their involvement would not be treated as a criminal act when they returned home. 

“It also helped volunteers understand the legal and operational risks of joining a mission that could lead to interception or detention,” he said.
These measures, Sani said, formed part 

of the duty of care owed to participants and their families, especially when detention had become a foreseeable risk in Gaza-bound flotilla efforts. 

Wider Pressure Needed 

Moving forward, future action for Gaza must be more comprehensive and cannot depend only on one mission, one protest or one boycott campaign. 

Sani said the next phase should involve stronger legal frameworks, regional mobilisation, media strategy and youth participation to keep international pressure alive. 

In particular, social media had become a critical battleground, as the struggle over Gaza was also a struggle over narrative. 

Sani said Malaysians had shown strong organic support by producing posters, cutting videos, building trackers and amplifying updates without being paid, reflecting an underused national strength that could be channelled into broader humanitarian and legal campaigns. 

Beyond media mobilisation, the mission also showed growing youth engagement, including among Gen Z activists drawn to action-oriented solidarity and visible impact. 

However, Sani said the movement should not be viewed only through a youth lens, as it had also drawn MPs, diplomats, sponsors and non-Muslim participants. 

“Sumud is not only for Muslims. It is not dominated by Arabs, nor is it dominated by one group of veterans,” he said. 

The mission had crossed religious, racial and generational lines, with international activists seeing Palestine as a question of humanity and justice. 

Sani said regional participation, particularly from Indonesia, could help build a stronger South-East Asian voice within the wider global movement. 

“I think what we need to do is awaken our regional neighbours — looking at the 11 fellow activists from Indonesia, it gives a new voice,” he said. 

Future efforts must also respond to Israel’s evolving media and narrative strategy, which requires wider participation beyond those who join missions at sea. 

The mission showed that different segments of society could contribute through their own skills, from legal work and education to social media and technical tools. 

“We need everybody, using everyone’s respective skills and capabilities,” he said. 

For Sani, the mission’s outcome was therefore not limited to the interception at sea, but showed that pressure for Palestine could be built through lawful, organised and recognisable channels. 

“When the world stood still and did not know what to do, Malaysians joined the GSF, we improvised and performed by attacking the segments that the world did not see,” he said. 

Ultimately, the next test is whether the momentum generated by the flotilla can be converted into sustained legal, diplomatic and public pressure that keeps the Gaza blockade under global scrutiny beyond the return of the activists. 

• This article first appeared in The Malaysian Reserve weekly print edition

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