the quran3, " o believers! be steadfast, strive to excel in steadfastness, remain firm on your belief and be mindful of allah, so you may be successful. " on this count, i commend the malaysian islamic finance industry for taking the leap forward more than half a decade ago - to embrace value - based intermediation ( vbi ). this strategic alignment with the maqasid shariah has enabled the industry to have a leg up while the rest of the sector is still at the exploratory stage in the ethical and sustainable journey. with the recent launch of the 3rd cohort of the vbi financing and investment impact assessment framework ( vbiaf ) 4 sectoral guides and the maqasid shariah scorecard ( mss ) in october, the industry should collectively work to intensify the implementation of vbi and measure its impact more effectively. moving forward, stronger implementation of vbi requires concerted efforts and holistic alignment across all key stakeholders. in particular, shareholder stewardship is vital to 2 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches ensure the transformative impacts of value - based finance are seen and felt by many. with louder tone from the top - shareholders have the power to drive positive changes across the entire ecosystem - aligning business practices with the best conduct - which can further strengthen governance and promote positive consumer outcomes. the islamic finance talent ecosystem must also evolve from treating shariah requirements as a compliance exercise to encapsulating the shariah values in its entirety a€ “ by demonstrating trustworthiness ; fairness ; transparency ; social responsibility ; and a commitment to justice and shared prosperity. ladies and gentlemen, the second key proposition is to advance innovation for value - based solutions. in adapting to the changing market needs, islamic finance must remain agile - by structuring sophisticated instruments, using the basic building blocks ; unbundling ; and repurposing different components of existing islamic financial instruments. the industry should actively explore the full range of shariah contracts and instruments to drive financial innovation to address real - world challenges. i believe that the future of value - based innovation is certainly bright. first, blended finance has great potential to expand access to finance for the underserved and unserved segments. this is particularly due to its ability, to mobilise social finance capital, such as zakat and waqf - combined with traditional financing. an example of blended

abdul rasheed ghaffour : revitalising the economy via islamic finance speech by mr abdul rasheed ghaffour, governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the 19th kuala lumpur islamic finance forum 2024, kuala lumpur, 5 november 2024. * * * it is an honour for me to be here at the 19th kuala lumpur islamic finance forum. for over nearly two decades, kliff has been a mainstay in the annual calendar of events surfacing global islamic finance perspectives, which resonate with contemporary developments. this year's forum, with the theme'revitalising the economy via islamic finance ', again - fosters dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders - to cultivate ideas and address the challenges of our time. islamic finance to elevate its role and impact in revitalising the economy allow me to begin by drawing some reflections and lessons from our rich islamic history. right from the start, the principles of ethical trade and equitable wealth distribution - have always been foundational in islamic society. back then, when slavery was prevalent, islam called for the move away from involuntary and slave labour - to be in favour of productive labour. as reported by abdullah ibn umar, prophet muhammad exhorted his people to - " pay the worker's wages, before his sweat gets dried " 1. such a progressive move was not only virtuous, but also a significant labour market reform. in fact, we see in the history of islam, many important developments - which led not only to the boosting of productivity, but also the emergence of innovative business techniques - laying the foundations for the modern economic system we have today. these include limited partnerships or mudarabah, the earliest forms of credit ( qard ), as well as the practice of mutual aid and cooperation - through zakat and waqf that enable resources to be redistributed and utilised, for the common good. these advancements strengthened social welfare - and in turn - encouraged cooperative enterprises and community - driven initiatives fast forward to today, i believe that the islamic financial sector, must carry on this tradition of courage and ingenuity - by continuing to challenge the status quo and to unlock next - level frontiers in financial practices and offerings - while remaining anchored on our fundamental values. to follow in the footsteps of our forefathers - in pushing the envelope in bringing about change, as we work to build and develop a more inclusive and