ABSTRACT
Ulul Albab is an educational programme of integration between the existing programmes in MARA Junior Science College (MRSM) with the religious school programme including Tahfiz Al-Quran. MARA Junior Science College (MJSC) Ulul Albab education programme is designed to produce professional experts, entrepreneurs and technocrats that are well versed in the field of religion-based Al-Quran and Sunnah as Ulul Albab generation. As such it is important to have the right kind of leaders or the ideal principals heading such schools. This study aims to investigate the leadership characteristics for this religious integrated school curriculum in Malaysia. This case study used a qualitative methodology through semi-structured interviews involving informants selected by utilizing purposive sampling technique. The interviews were analysed mainly using constant comparative method in order to identify the view of informants on Ulul Albab leadership and the various rationales. Verbatim interviews were later transcribed and analysed using ATLAS.ti version 8. The informants in this study held varied perceptions on the leadership characteristics of an Ulul Albab principal, depending on their personal experiences in different school environments. The analysed data led to the conclusion of ten paramount leadership characteristics that characterize an ideal Ulul Albab principal. Research implication of this study should be given special attention by all parties, especially the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MoE) in deciding the appropriate individual as the principal for schools implementing the integrated curriculum of Ulul Albab.
