zeti akhtar aziz : malaysia as an international islamic financial centre keynote address by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the dialogue with industry participants on mifc ( malaysia international islamic financial centre ), kuala lumpur, 1 november 2006. * * * the mifc initiative was launched on 14 august 2006 amidst strong foundation and steady performance of the islamic financial industry. it marks the beginning of a new era for the future landscape of the islamic financial system in malaysia. several landmark measures were announced to initiate the mifc agenda. it is to set the stage 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. this presents new prospects and business considerations for financial institutions to realise the potential of evolving a vibrant islamic financial hub. today's dialogue, the first of its kind among key stakeholders, is aimed at promoting greater awareness on the initiative, to discuss implementation issues and to foster greater collaborative effort for the mifc's overall success. we have with us here today the members of the mifc executive committee, the country's high level coordinating body that has been set up to advance forward this national agenda. objectives of mifc this national agenda aims to achieve several major objectives. as one of the key intermediation linkages in the global market place, the mifc can have an important role in accelerating the process of bridging and strengthening the relationship between the international islamic financial markets and thereby expand the investment and trade relations between the middle eastern, west asia and north africa regions with east asia. situated centrally in the asian time zone, malaysia is well positioned to effectively serve the east asian region. among the key intermediation role for mifc is to act as a centre for origination, issuance and trading of islamic capital market and treasury instruments such as sukuks, and to act as an investment gateway to the region specialising in islamic fund and wealth management, and as a takaful and retakaful centre. in promoting capital and cross - border trade flows between the financial communities of these regions, it will thereby strengthen the international integration of our domestic islamic financial system. in addition, this initiative is expected to improve further the performance of the islamic financial industry and strengthen its competitive edge in this increasingly more challenging global environment. currently, assets of the islamic banking and takaful in malaysia have been increasing at a double digit growth rate of

such pressures can emanate from the high expectations of the different stakeholders, the crisis conditions or from the failure of other parts of the public sector that have implications on your performance. however, being strategically focussed and having the ability to stay on course avoids being derailed by such pressures. eighth, is then courage and bravery to undertake the responsibilities. at the extreme it requires having nerves of steel. this is to enable sound decisions at the time of high level of distress and ensures that the organisation remains calm and cohesive during such times. ninth, is having the drive and unwavering perseverance to pursue the vision. the agenda of public sector which is to ultimately improve the well being of its citizens is a long haul business which therefore requires perseverance. it often requires several pre - conditions to be in place, it requires having the enabling environment and the different parts of the public sector to come together to act cumulatively to deliver the results. frequently, this synchronisation does not happen. strong convictions on the cause, reinforced by the capabilities and supported by the perseverance increases the potential to produce results that makes the difference. finally, and most importantly is the ability for continuous reinvention. the changing environment is more globalised, more competitive, more uncertain and ambiguous, more technologically driven, more prone to crisis, and is subject to greater scrutiny and demands for greater transparency. this more difficult operating environment demands new skills and abilities to manage these new challenges. indeed, the role of leadership is dynamic and has changed considerably. reinvention is to support the ability to creatively respond to change. building effective organisations to strengthen our ability to manage the new challenges arising from the changed environment, equally important is building effective organisations with the capabilities that will deliver results. this will involve organisational reviews and the continuously modernising of the organisation so that it can continue to best serve the nation. such endeavour will require periodic environmental scans and envisioning to revalidate the strategic thrust of the organisation. modernisation efforts then need to be supported by a blueprint of the strategic steps and initiatives that need to be taken. women that have the capability must be brought in at the leadership levels to participate in this process. to increase opportunities for women would require opportunities for education and for the acquisition of experience and exposure. after formal education, it is experience and expertise gained from coaching and mentoring that will further enhance an individual ’ s contribution to organisational effectiveness. in a modernised