Mutual benevolent (khairat kematian): the logic of participation among volunteer members of Malaysian Civil Defense Force in Selangor

The term khairat is already familiar in the Malaysian society although the term is actually borrowed from the Arabic background. Mutual benevolent usually is known as money collected from contributors who are living in a certain area at a certain rate to prepare for unfortunate events that could lead to decease. The issue that arises is among the volunteer members of Malaysia Civil Defense Force who are exposed to high-risk jobs and vulnerable to death risk unsupported by a low and uncertain earning income. This study was carried out to examine the knowledge, awareness, belief and trust affecting the volunteer member in participating mutual benevolent. The questionnaire has been distributed to 230 respondents from volunteer members of the Malaysian Civil Defense Force around the state of Selangor. The results showed all of the three factors have a positive relationship with the tendency to participate in mutual benevolent in Selangor. The findings of this study provide important insights to the management of the mutual benevolent in planning more methods to attract the participation of volunteer members. Further, it is recommended that several measures can be taken by various parties such as the authorities, the next researchers and the community itself in improving and overcoming problems arising from the mutual benevolent.