individual institutions to serve as a basis for financial institutions to assess their own performance and to use the results to benchmark themselves against global best practices. the objective is to achieve world - class quality in financial services. ladies and gentlemen, the provision of adequate avenues for redress is also important to enable consumers to resolve conflicts through an equitable process. efforts have been made to strengthen redress mechanisms both at the institutional level as well as on an industry level. as you may be aware, avenues for redress by consumers against banking institutions and insurers are already available via the banking mediation bureau ( bmb ), and the insurance mediation bureau ( imb ) respectively. these bureaus, established more than a decade ago, have achieved considerable success in resolving disputes against banks and insurance companies. in 2004, a total of 1, 515 cases have been handled by these two bureaus. nevertheless, with the blurring of the traditional boundaries between financial products and services provided by banks, insurance companies, and other financial intermediaries, the creation of an integrated bureau is necessary for the resolution of a broad range of consumer issues raised in relation to the diverse range of financial institutions under the supervision of bank negara. there are also clear synergies to be achieved from leveraging on the resources available to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the dispute resolution process as consumers will be provided with a convenient and efficient one - stop centre to seek formal redress as an alternative to litigation, which may involve considerable time and financial resources. ladies and gentlemen, it therefore gives me great pleasure today to launch the financial mediation bureau, an integrated dispute resolution centre for financial institutions under the supervision of bank negara malaysia. the creation of an integrated agency is in line with the international trends towards such resolution centres, and the framework and model for the financial mediation bureau has been benchmarked against best practices worldwide, notably in countries such as the united kingdom, canada and australia. the scope of the financial mediation bureau has been expanded to cover, for the first time, islamic banks, takaful operators, development financial institutions, as well as selected payment system operators and non - bank issuers of credit and charge cards. i am also pleased to announce that with the launch of the financial mediation bureau, the limit on cases falling within the jurisdiction of the bureau has been increased from the limits applicable to the former mediation bureaus. this will provide increased access to the bureau as an avenue for redress for a wider spectrum of

and ensure products and services offered remain relevant. that would entail understanding issues faced by society at large. some of the most critical issues confronting the economy and society all over the world include accessibility to affordable housing, quality of living standards, and better avenues to good healthcare and education. how could islamic finance and shariah scholars contribute towards solving some of the problems in the real world? how should islamic finance position itself to become the preferred solutions providers on issues faced by the real economy and society? third, start “ walking the talk ”. as scholars, you will have plenty of ideas about how to make the world a better place. i call on you to translate these ideas and proposed solutions into concrete actions. we have enough of polemics and preaching. you will likely need to work with others to make this happen. therein lie my earlier point that i alluded, that we need to create a culture of greater collaboration and respect between the world of academia, regulators and industry players. my hope is that applied research and the development islamic finance becomes mutually - reinforcing, a “ virtuous circle ”, where extensive research translates itself into great solutions which can then be used to propel islamic finance to a new level of excellence. but it will require us to strengthen the linkages in transforming research insights into practice. you can do your part in promoting this close association through active engagements with the industry or by being a member of working groups to look into specific areas with the regulatory authorities. conclusion i certainly hope you would find time to reflect on your past, and to think about what you could contribute for islamic finance and the ummah in the future. you were once isra scholarshipholders, but even as you enter a different phase of your career, you continue to remain life - long scholars. continue to pursue the love of knowledge, and use it to make the world a better place. let me conclude this remarks by quoting a hadith ; “ he who introduced some good practice in islam which was followed after him ( by people ), he would be assured of reward like one who followed it ”. ( narrated by sahih muslim ). 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches