, will somehow work together for the benefit of all ’. today, this lack of moral compass and base motivation for financial and economic decision making rings hollow. society desires higher motives and a greater sense of purpose. supporting this must be a stronger sense of ethics and values. in the mainstream or conventional financial system, many institutions and practitioners have latched onto sustainability, environmental and governance themes and standards as a manifestation of this. finance must serve the good and is no longer about greed and selfinterest. raising the impact of islamic finance to the economy and society through stronger leadership, values and ethics islamic finance has always been subjected to higher overarching objectives that place ethical and moral conduct at its centre. the maqasid shariah first articulated by al - ghazali in the 12th century and developed further by later scholars, speaks towards preservation of religion, life, family, mind and property with the ultimate aim of prevention of harm and attainment of benefits. at the onset, such objectives entail the prohibition of any unethical or unlawful conduct in islamic finance while putting in place features of an embedded governance that support the highest level of integrity and good conduct within islamic finance. this is achieved through the branch of shariah of fiqh muamalat which governs business and financial relationships in the islamic economy. the main objective of islamic economics itself is the human well - being, a concept that not only cuts across the necessities of maqasid shariah, but also extends towards a more 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches comprehensive social and economic aspiration for the betterment of the material and spiritual well - being of a society. islamic finance therefore naturally has the potential to take the lead striving towards an ethical, moral and also sustainable model for finance in the global financial system. in developing the islamic financial system, these unique propositions are drawn out further from underlying shariah principles. islamic finance practitioners in principle, are at a minimum, duty - bound to observe the norms of high ethical conduct to uphold the values and the sanctity of shariah. principles alone however, do not insulate islamic finance from experiencing conduct risks. examples in the past from various cases of frauds, breach of trust and mismanagement have occurred, exposing islamic finance to reputational risks. operational safeguards remain critical in the day - to - day decision making and business operations. islamic finance must also continuously reflect on whether the governance

authority in the ascertainment of islamic law for islamic financial business ; and a shariah committee setup in each islamic financial institution to advise the management and the board on all matters relating to shariah issues that are specific to the institution. currently, we are in the midst of revising the shariah governance framework to further strengthen it by providing, among others, greater clarity on the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of the board, shariah committee and key organs involved in instituting a robust shariah compliance risk culture. through the governance, 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches application of shariah will be more closely integrated with the business and risk strategies of islamic financial institutions. these efforts, and many more, have culminated in an unparalleled growth in the islamic banking market share which grew six fold over the last 20 years. islamic banking system now comprises over 30 % of the overall. takaful has also grown in acceptance, registering double digit growth rates outpacing the conventional counterpart for the past few years. ar - rahnu, islamic investment accounts are becoming more familiar products among malaysians. we have also become and have maintained a position among the world ’ s largest sukuk issuers. islamic finance is thriving and competitive. islamic financial institutions should consider the wider impact of their activities beyond this, islamic finance is also spearheading initiatives in sustainable finance with islamic banking institutions championing the implementation of value - based intermediation ( vbi ). through vbi, islamic financial institutions adopt a highly structured framework to assess how they create value and impact, for example, from economic, social and environmental perspectives. vbi accords equal emphasis to economic value creation and upholding of ethical values, and strengthens islamic finance as a “ uniting force for good ”. the vbi initiative is currently bringing together the banking groups through a pioneering community of practitioners ( cop ) to advance the sustainability agenda in a collaborative, concerted and synergistic approach. this includes forming close engagement with organisations that share similar sustainability aspirations. through vbi, islamic banks are taking the lead in advancing finance for the good. while these banks are still at early stages in their journeys, there are already concrete examples of vbi being put into action today as we see progress in embedding its elements in their financial products, practices and operations. though vbi has a far wider scope, these early applications capitalise on contemporary sustainability themes.