perceived as dubious, has not enhanced public support for the protection of such claims by official authorities. some, but not all, would argue with the russian academic who last month told the washington post that “ the state thinks... private capital should be defended by those who have it.... it ’ s a completely conscious policy of the law enforcement authorities to remove themselves from defending private capital. ” certainly, if generations of russians have been brought up on the marxist notion that private property is “ theft, ” a breakdown of the soviet central planning infrastructure is not going to automatically alter the perceived moral base of its social system. the right to property in market economies, on the other hand, is morally rooted in its culture. indeed, the presumption of property ownership and the legality of its transfer must be deeply embedded in the culture of a society for free market economies to function effectively. in the west and especially under british common law and its derivatives, the moral validity of property rights is accepted, or at least acquiesced in, by virtually the whole of the population. accordingly, a very small proportion of contracts have to be enforced through actions in the courts. moreover, reflecting a strong commitment to property rights, a surprisingly large number of contracts, especially in financial markets, are initially oral, confirmed only at a later date, and at times after much price movement, by a written document. the differing attitudes and views toward property ownership are passed from generation to generation through family values and education systems. hence, the process of full transition from the so - called collective rights of socialist economies to the individual property rights of market economies and legal certainties can be expected to be slow. one prominent young russian reformer of my acquaintance thinks the transition is moving quickly among those under forty years of age, much less so among their elders. altering what a nation teaches its children is a profoundly difficult task and clearly cannot be accomplished overnight. changing attitudes toward property and profit is not simple. these attitudes derive from the deepest values of personal worth people hold. aside from property rights enforced by an impartial judiciary, for a market economy to function effectively, there must also be widespread dissemination of timely financial and other relevant information. this enables market participants to make the type of informed judgments that foster the most efficient allocation of capital - - efficient in the sense that our physical resources are directed at producing those goods and services most valued by consumers. this requires a free press and government data information systems that are perceived

zeti akhtar aziz : central banking – using leadership energy to build resilience speech by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the iclif leadership energy asia summit 2015, kuala lumpur, 1 december 2015. * * * welcome to this year ’ s leadership energy summit asia organised by our iclif leadership and governance centre. this is our third summit in the series on leadership energy. the focus on leadership energy reflects its importance in today ’ s leadership. the contemporary environment we are living in has become increasingly more challenging – characterised by highly destabilising and tumultuous events. not only are we living in a world that has become highly unpredictable and unstable but a world that is being more frequently subject to extreme conditions in which we are tested to the limit. how do we survive against the odds manifested in this environment? it is all about having the ability to endure and prevail. it is also about being able to succeed and thrive in such an environment. it is about being resilient. resilience is key to surviving in this environment. today we are privileged to hear and be inspired from the experience of personalities who not only survived against such great odds but who have also achieved great success. let me take this opportunity to express our gratitude to our distinguished speakers who have come from different parts of the world to share their knowledge and experience on this subject. it is all about their perseverance and resilience and how they have defied all expectations. the issue before us is the source of their energy to persevere and their courage to stay the course when it all appears to be hopeless. in the business of central banking we are increasingly being confronted by such extreme conditions. building resilience is therefore key. i have described central banking as being an unfinished business because there are always new challenges on the horizon, endless demands emerging from an ever changing and more complex environment and great expectations that the central bank will provide the solutions to resolve the financial and economic problems that confront us. the central bank is also at the forefront in the management of any financial and economic crisis – a phenomenon that continues to plague the world with increasing frequency. the central bank can be described as a high impact organisation. its decisions or indecisions, its action or inaction will have major and far reaching repercussions and consequences on the economic well being of the public at large and