mohammad bin ibrahim : islamic finance and malaysia ’ s role luncheon address by mr mohammad bin ibrahim, deputy governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the 21st conference of presidents of law associations in asia : “ islamic finance and malaysia ’ s role ”, kuala lumpur, 27 july 2010. * * * allow me to express my thanks to the organizers for inviting me to this 21st conference of the presidents of law associations in asia. it is my pleasure to speak before such a distinguished gathering of legal practitioners from all over asia on the topic of islamic finance. the support provided by the legal fraternity has been important in the advancement and significant growth of the islamic finance industry. the existence of appropriate laws and well - developed related institutional framework has been fundamental to the orderly and sound development of islamic finance in malaysia. and our legal community has been at the forefront of advancing the expertise in islamic finance, enabling and contributing to the dynamism of our islamic financial services industry. the contribution of the legal fraternity has been significant given that islamic financial transactions are driven to some extent of the lawyers ’ ability to structure legal documentation to conform and consistent with the principles advocated by the shariah. it has now been more than three years since the world ’ s financial systems were engulfed with a crisis of an unprecedented magnitude in modern history. yet its far - reaching repercussions continue to reverberate around the world today. whilst we in asia, backed by the strong fundamentals of asian economies and swift stimulus measures, were able to rebound quickly and lead the world into recovery thus far, recent developments surrounding the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in several advanced economies have sparked fresh concerns which could imperil global growth, derailing the road to a more robust global economic recovery. this unsettling financial environment prompts a reminder that fundamental changes are gravely needed in the global financial sector. much effort in making these changes are still taking place at various international fora, with most have largely centered on reforming financial regulation and supervision. beyond regulatory and supervisory reforms, there is an increased global emphasis for effective, efficient and responsible financial intermediation that promotes economically, socially and environmentally sustainable development and long - term growth. it is now generally accepted that the overriding objective of global development must be founded on genuine and productive arrangements, leading to the path of sustainable growth and shared prosperity. islamic finance is well positioned to meet this objective. malaysia ’ s long and experienced journey in islamic finance and the various measures that were put in placed

engaging each and every canadian 22. applying plain language principle is absolutely important. i was also hinting at this earlier when i mentioned that our communication should be in a language and through a media which is understood by the receiver, otherwise it will not serve the purpose. 23. so, the canadian national strategy for financial literacy lists out three goals, sets out three priorities for achieving concrete action and also makes a pitch for measuring the success periodically through a range of evaluation tools supported by research. overall, the document is very focused and i wish if we could come out with a blue print of this kind after the deliberations at this conference, which can serve as a national reference paper, that would be quite an achievement. i understand this cannot be the final word as several initiatives are being taken in this direction simultaneously. but this paper can certainly help in raising a healthy debate and ultimately help in further fine - tuning the approach for promoting financial literacy in the country. with that, i wish this conference all the success. thank you very much! bis central bankers ’ speeches