agenda forward. however, beyond technical competency, risk managers increasingly require confidence and communication skills to be the resounding voice in promoting risk culture. risk managers need to have a seat at the executive table and play a role in shaping the risk profile and risk culture of your organisations. a study conducted by harvard business school highlights how leadership and communication by risk managers can influence the significance of their role within organisations. as expected, the study found that risk managers that proactively sought opportunities to raise their visibility were able to assert risk management perspectives and were better able to position themselves as critical voices within organisations. ladies and gentlemen the task of a risk manager in an organisation is like that of a ship navigator. as you work closely 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches with your captain to navigate your ship across unknown waters, your job is to ensure you get your ship to its destination in one piece. you never know what hazards may lie ahead but whether it be foul weather, rough seas or hostile forces, you stand ever ready to face them. the things that set great risk managers apart, like great navigators, are their ability to work with their captain and crew as a unit, their skills at employing the tools at their disposal to deal with risks at hand, and their attention to their surroundings for signs of impending threats. with that, i wish you all a smooth - sailing journey ahead and a productive and fruitful conference over the next two days. thank you. 5 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches

investors, including from the middle east, to leverage on malaysia as an investment gateway to tap the rapidly growing investment opportunities in the east asian region. thirdly, this partnership also serves to enhance malaysia as a centre of product innovation in islamic finance. indeed, conscious efforts have been made to ensure a conducive environment for innovation in malaysia, including the development of the necessary pool of expertise and talent to drive such innovation. within bank islam itself, there is a track record and brand name for innovation, with the development of new business models and product offerings. this partnership would thus contribute towards accelerating this process and towards serving as a bridge to strengthen the relationship of the islamic financial markets as well as the investment and trade ties between the west asian and north african regions, with east asia. strengthening the capital of a financial institution, however, is not the only factor that will determine its capacity and potential to perform. equally important is the quality of its talent, the systems that it has in place, in particular, its risk management and ict systems and its governance structure, its leadership and its corporate culture. thus, while this capitalisation exercise will put bank islam in a stronger position to tap new opportunities, all the other elements also need to be in place to enable the institution to realise its true potential. sound corporate governance and effective management of banking institutions are vital to ensure their effective and sound functioning. in particular, significant shareholders are expected to play an active role to ensure that capable individuals are appointed on the board and senior management of banking institutions. bank negara malaysia had as early as 2001 required the board and management of bank islam to undertake remedial actions on several operational and control weaknesses. when the weaknesses were not adequately addressed, the process of reconstituting the board and management of bank islam was initiated in 2003. in such an exercise, key shareholders are expected to be proactive in making prudent and responsible action to remove any member or employee that is found to be unsuitable or not having the required calibre so as to avoid a prolonged process in the reconstruction of the board and management of the bank. it needs to be recognized that the responsibility for the safety and soundness at the institutional level rests primarily with the board and the management of each banking institution and the key stakeholders such as the significant shareholders. institutional investors should also have an active role and make swift and bold decisions in ensuring that only capable individuals are appointed and remain on the board and senior management of banking institutions.