impact to the world we live in. this calls for the reinvention and reimagination of the shariah profession in a number of ways. first, enlarging our worldview. no doubt, theology is core to ascertaining the integrity of islamic finance transactions, rooted in the principles of the quran and sunnah. however, islam offers so much freedom for intellectual and cultural explorations. such explorations – to experiment with new ideas and critically assess existing norms – are in fact, highly encouraged. it is this intellectual and cultural freedom that has characterised the long line of great islamic traditions throughout history ; from ibn battutta who traveled the world and eventually produced his famous work the “ rihlah ”, to ibn khaldun who challenged the existing traditions and wrote the acclaimed “ muqaddimah ”. hundreds of years after they were written, these works are still revered and widely used as a reference today. speaking of freedom allowed in islam, i am reminded of a famous episode in the early days of islam during the battle of khandak. it was during the eve of the battle when the prophet received a suggestion from one of his companions1 to employ a novel battle strategy – one that is, as 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches many of you know, based on digging trenches around the city. this new strategy, generally unheard of among the muslims and arabs at the time, was in fact, borrowed and imitated from the persians2. regardless, the prophet agreed to and pushed for the unconventional strategy and as a result, secured an emphatic victory. in line with the significant flexibility afforded in islam, i believe that shariah must not be confined to a rigid framework. the way i see it, shariah should not and cannot, be applied in a vacuum. rather, it has to be contextualised and applied into business realities. we can learn valuable lessons from the practices of great muslim thinkers of the past such as al - farabi and ibn sina who drew strong influences from the writings of greek philosophers such as aristotle, but revolutionised and updated the knowledge into the context of islam and their contemporary times. the benefits are immense. it allows knowledge to thrive and develop further as it becomes more applicable and easier to grasp. it is therefore wise for us to widen our " peripheral vision " to encompass business considerations in interpreting and applying the principles of shariah. this is essential, if we aspire

for the appointment and re - appointment of shariah committee members. this applies as well for key shariah personnel in islamic financial institutions, including islamic windows. the aim is to ensure shariah advisors and personnel are equipped with the necessary knowledge that 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches transcends across various disciplines including legal, finance and taxation matters. the timeline for compliance will be decided later. my final point is to engage the world more openly. issues of shariah are complex and sometimes difficult to discern. but they are important, and matter very much to a wide range of stakeholders. as imam ash - shafi ’ i reportedly said, “ knowledge is that which benefits, not that which is memorised ” 3. hence, in keeping with the changing landscape of the industry, engaging more openly and transparently about views and decisions will enhance understanding and acceptance. views and opinions are man - made and should be challenged, questioned and debated through civil and intellectual discourse. during the islamic golden age, such discourses and challenging of ideas were commonplace to assess the veracity of knowledge. al haytham, who wrote the influential ‘ book of optics ’, once said : “ the duty of the man who investigates the writings of scientists, if learning the truth is his goal, is to make himself an enemy of all that he reads.... he should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it.. ” the goal for us today should be to forge greater understanding and acceptance. contentious differences in shariah opinion is a given but it must not hold us back, but rather be resolved through debate and discussion with a view to find truth and justice. in setting an example to inspire such exchanges, beginning january 2018, bank negara malaysia ’ s website will feature an enhanced version of the sac microsite, starting with the bahasa version to provide more detailed disclosure of the sac ’ s works. over the years, the sac has accumulated a treasure trove of knowledge which has been shared through various publications. in this digital age, it is high time that this be made even more accessible to the whole world. this new microsite will among others, serve as a repository for key discussions on fiqh matters and underlying reasoning of shariah rulings. this is expected to promote greater understanding and appreciation of the thought process and rationale in arriving at a ruling by our learned scholars. i trust that this repository of knowledge will encourage