structural reforms often entail short - term pain even if they do provide long - term gain. note the protests that have occurred in the crisis - affected economies in response to structural measures that governments in those economies have been forced to implement. the short - term pain makes structural reforms a politically difficult decision. there are sectors of society that would be adversely affected by these reforms and they will not take it kindly. therefore, it takes political courage. the other point is that while reforms are occurring, they can adversely affect the pace of economic growth due to the dislocations caused. however, assuming that the government has the fiscal strength, some of these dislocations can be mitigated through the use of fiscal policy. therefore, in terms of the growth outlook, if countries seriously undertake structural reforms it may temporarily reduce growth, but would likely lead to much stronger longer - term growth. if such reforms are not undertaken, it would create a low and unstable growth path for the affected economies. the collateral consequence of this later outcome could be increased cross - border frictions. the fifth and final point i would like to mention has to do with income inequality. you cannot but have noticed that it has become a hot topic of discussion in the post - crisis period. the french economist thomas piketty, has become a superstar by writing a book on it. the reasons for this are obvious. well - paid bankers caused the crisis and after the crisis most of them continue to have well - paid jobs. many low and middle income workers lost their jobs, suffered sharp declines in their economic welfare, and many even lost their homes. furthermore, the crisis has highlighted the large disparities in income in the aes, and the fact that in the preceding period of prosperity, the benefits of growth have largely gone to a relatively small group in society. you can say that the crisis has let the genie out of the gini - coefficient. how governments deal with this income disparity will not only be reflected in social and political outcomes, but also economic ones as it is the low and middle income groups that have the highest marginal propensity to consume. similarly, a lack of success in dealing with the high youth unemployment in the crisis affected economies could have lasting consequences and put these young people on a permanently lower earnings path, further contributing to both income inequality and weaker growth. bis central bankers ’ speeches to conclude, let me summarise my key message : economically, things are looking

adnan zaylani mohamad zahid : keynote address - islamic financial market forum keynote address by mr adnan zaylani mohamad zahid, assistant governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the standard chartered's islamic financial market forum, kuala lumpur, 14 march 2023. * * * ceos, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. assalamualaikum w. b. t and a very good morning. the financial sector blueprint 2022 – 2026 sets out what bnm's development priorities are for the financial sector over the next five years. in its third iteration, islamic finance remains a top priority. one of the thrusts, " advancing value - based finance through islamic finance leadership " is aimed at spurring growth that is progressive, sustainable and inclusive. this also intends to strengthen malaysia's value proposition as an international gateway for islamic finance which will be a reaffirmation of the " malaysia as an islamic financial centre ( mifc ) " agenda. since its inception in 2006, the mifc agenda of " internationalisation of islamic finance " has offered a platform for malaysia to position itself as a centre for the offering of islamic financial products and services in international currencies to the global and domestic financial community. many of our early initiatives and efforts were to build the foundations and to create the necessary critical mass for participating financial players, which would increase the scale of activity and financial services offered. malaysia aimed to attract global players as well as to enhance the capacity and capabilities of the domestic financial institutions. today, despite the effort to develop foreign currency ( fc ) issuances and other businesses out of malaysia, we have not yet reached a critical mass. to date, fc issuances constitute only 4 % of the total outstanding sukuk in malaysia ( march 2023 : rm1. 3 trillion ), with usd being the main currency1. in terms of international players, these past few years have seen more consolidation rather than expansion or growth. notwithstanding these, the fc or international business should represent a continuous opportunity for market players to develop further, in particular with the continued growth of our own international trade and investment and the foreign exchange liberalisations we have undertaken. moving forward, while the opportunities of fc business remain available, the mifc agenda will also give due consideration to strengthening the domestic ringgit market. inclusion of mgii into international indices such as markit iboxx albi,