financial stability. the third relates to the increasingly and highly complex financial and economic integration associated with globalisation. this has resulted in a significant expansion in cross - border financial activities and introduced new sources of risks to domestic financial systems. the recent crisis raised many issues for which clear solutions, or even consensus, have yet to emerge, including on the propensity for home bias in the policy responses, suitable approaches to cross - border resolutions, and the significant challenge of coordinating policies across different legal and institutional frameworks. this is an area where the legal framework remains highly fragmented. a sustainable solution will require legal reforms in particular, to provide certainty and clarity in dealing with crises. as events in the current global environment have demonstrated, central banking has become significantly more challenging. the issues confronting central banks today are far more diverse and complex, prompting the re - examination of the role of central banks, the capacity to manage and contain risks to monetary and financial stability, and the governance arrangements and the policy instruments that are needed to support the effectiveness of central banks. the new central bank of malaysia act 2009 which was passed by parliament in july this year represents the culmination of more than two years work to address the issues and challenges that are confronting central banks in this rapidly changing environment. the act elaborates extensively giving greater clarity on the mandates for which we are accountable and providing enhanced powers to undertake these mandates. in the principal objective of promoting monetary stability, it is recognised that price stability is to be achieved in an environment of sustainable growth of the economy. consideration is thus given to the sustained implications of monetary stability measures on the real economy. the law therefore requires the bank to take a balanced view to avoid the adoption of rigid frameworks that may result in strong biases that would lead to a fundamental and sustained damage to the economy. this balance is also extended to the explicit role of the bank in developing an inclusive financial system in its responsibility to develop a sound and progressive financial system. these considerations are particularly important for emerging market economies so as to ensure balanced economic progress and development. the new central bank of malaysia act 2009 also institutionalises the autonomy for the formulation of monetary policy, thus providing for the integrity and credibility of the decisions made. it also provides for greater flexibility in monetary policy implementation, allowing for a diversified range of instruments that can now be deployed for the implementation of monetary policy. as financial markets trend towards greater sophistication and demonstrate periods of extreme volatility, central banks must have commen

zeti akhtar aziz : a milestone towards a more efficient and internationally integrated global islamic financial system speech by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the global launch of thomson reuters islamic finance gateway, kuala lumpur, 22 february 2010. * * * in this more challenging global economic and financial environment, islamic finance has remained dynamic with a steady pace of innovation and fast growing as its expansion gains further momentum. this has demonstrated not only its viability and resilience but also its ability to remain competitive. this decade has also seen the increased internationalisation of islamic finance as it extends it outreach to serve the global community. the accelerated development of the islamic financial markets and the supporting international islamic financial architecture as well as the trend towards greater liberalisation have increased the integration of islamic finance into the international financial system. today ’ s launch of the islamic finance gateway by thomson reuters is indeed a welcome development. the timely access to a broad range of key information on islamic finance including on the products terms, structures and shariah rulings will contribute to enhanced transparency in the islamic financial markets. as a platform that allows for price discovery, it will contribute towards the more efficient functioning of the various islamic financial markets across the world. it will also foster a greater international understanding of islamic financial practices in the various islamic financial markets. i have been informed that this gateway will also include in its content, the shariah resolutions database of the international shariah research academy ( isra ) following the signing of the memorandum of understanding between thomson reuters and isra that is scheduled today. isra was established in 2008 to provide a platform for greater engagement amongst practitioners, scholars, regulators, academicians in the area of shariah and to promote applied research contemporary issues in islamic finance. their efforts have contributed to the harmonisation of shariah interpretations and thus the standardisation of shariah applications and practices is islamic finance. isra has now become an important repository of knowledge for shariah views or fatwas. the reuters islamic finance gateway thus has the potential to become an important vehicle for worldwide dissemination of high quality information on islamic finance. in performing the function as an aggregator of information on islamic finance, the gateway will showcase the dynamic pulse of the global islamic financial services industry. this increased information flow across borders in real time will also reinforce the trend of the internationalisation of islamic finance. there is already an increasing level of foreign participation in the islamic financial markets resulting