other authorities to further strengthen existing arrangements in ongoing efforts to combat fraud and financial crime. this includes sharing of resources, expertise and data, as well as joint preventive measures. compliance officers in the financial industry also have a role to play by being vigilant of emerging scam typologies and ensuring that response measures remain effective against new threats. i urge the entire compliance profession, including self - regulatory bodies, to take up leading roles to identify red flags and develop guidance to mitigate these threats. in 2019, we launched myfinet to facilitate intelligence sharing on financial crimes. since its inception, this platform has successfully helped to support action that led to the prosecution and deportation of individuals with suspected involvement in terrorism financing and proliferation financing. we will continue to leverage on myfinet to facilitate information sharing on latest trends and typologies of modern - day scams, so that we can learn from each other. in addition, bank negara malaysia will also work with the financial industry and law enforcement agencies to explore other arrangements for exchanging information on scams with foreign authorities, including foreign financial intelligence units, given increasingly complex networks of financial crimes. after all, cybercrime knows no borders. while i have focused much on fraud, we must remember that crimes tend to be interconnected. as such, we should be just as diligent and vigilant in our efforts to combat all crimes, particularly high - risk crimes identified in nra 2020 such as corruption, organised crimes and illicit drug trafficking. not forgetting also, environmental crimes involving illegal importation of plastic waste and illegal waste dumping that contributes to climate change risks have been rising. as professionals in your respective fields, it is imperative for us to be aware of these risks as we continue to strengthen our individual and collective response to such risks. with this in mind, i urge all of you to remember : we have done much in the past but we cannot let our guard down. as the conference theme rightly highlights, we are now at a new frontier of compliance. the fight against financial crimes is one fought on multiple fronts. and the chain is only as strong as the weakest link. our success requires all parties ; the private sector, regulators, law enforcement agencies and other government bodies, and consumers alike, to do their part – to adapt to these new threats, to transform themselves to deal with these challenges, and to collaborate to safeguard the integrity of our country ’ s financial system. see also : accompanying presentation

governor ’ s keynote address at the international conference on financial crime and terrorism financing ( ifctf ) 2022 speaker : tan sri nor shamsiah mohd yunus / venue : kuala lumpur / language : english / speech / interview date : 26 jul 2022 / it is a pleasure to be able to speak again at this conference after a two - year hiatus. a lot has changed in these two years as we adjust to living with covid - 19. like every other country, we anticipate with hope and perseverance, that the pandemic is well and truly behind us. but this exceptional and extraordinary period in our history will serve to remind us, that vigilance in the fight against financial crime can never be relaxed. during this period, reported financial crimes in many countries increased significantly, as criminals exploited conditions created by the pandemic, to commit financial crimes – making an already difficult time that much worse, for many who became victims of such crimes. occasions like the ifctf provide an opportunity to renew our determination to prevent the financial system from being abused for criminal purposes, or to inflict terror on our communities. financial crimes have a direct and important effect on our economic prospects. so let me preface my remarks today with some observations on our economy. malaysia is firmly on a recovery path. supported by solid domestic activity and positive external demand, the economy is expected to grow steadily in 2022 and 2023, despite continuing challenges from rising cost pressures, the military conflict in ukraine and strict containment measures in china. we are benefitting from strong demand for our exports – especially e & e and commodity - based products. our diversified export products and markets will continue to support our export growth. importantly, we are seeing increasing strength in domestic demand. domestic spending, especially consumer expenditure is on the rise. in fact, retail sales, debit card transactions and consumer goods imports have exceeded their pre - pandemic levels. the economy is also benefiting from a strengthening job market. while unemployment was at its peak of 5. 3 % in may 2020, it is now at 3. 9 %. almost 26, 000 new jobs were created in the first three months of this year, similar to pre - pandemic levels. job vacancies and wages are also rising. this will further reinforce the recovery in domestic demand going forward. that said, there is some unevenness in the economic recovery. certain segments continue to experience hardship and remain vulnerable. these