MEDIA CENTRE - Closing Remarks by John Zinkin
Friday, 11th July 2008
John Zinkin
CEO, Securities Industry Development Corporation
The closing ceremony of Islamic Markets Programme 2008
Distinguished scholars, ladies and gentlemen,
A very good afternoon to you all!
I now have the bittersweet duty of bringing these proceedings to a close.
I hope that you have enjoyed the days you have spent with us, investing your valuable time in getting to learn more about the exciting opportunities presented by Islamic products. I also hope that you have used this occasion to renew old acquaintances and make new friends – all of whom share a common purpose: to understand what is happening and where the markets are going. For some of you this will have been a very steep learning curve as you will have graduated from beginners to a high level of intermediate understanding. Others of you will already be familiar with many of the concepts, and the need to think in an integrated fashion about how Islamic thinking affects the law, the accounting practices and the nature of the underlying assets, as well as what is permissible and what is forbidden.
At the opening of this seminar I mentioned the unique, integrated regulatory infrastructure in Malaysia that provides a facilitative and enabling framework to help the development of the market, its products and institutions. Perhaps another one of the distinguishing features of the Malaysian way of approaching the development of Islamic finance is to be found in the spirit with which the permitted and forbidden is interpreted. As I understand it, and I may well be wrong, the principle behind commercial transactions is is that all is permissible unless it is explicitly forbidden, as the Earth and its fruits are for Mankind to enjoy. Perhaps this explains why Malaysian interpretations of what is or is not Shariah compliant are freer than those of some scholars in the Gulf, who seem to have adopted the view that a thing is haram unless it is explicitly permissible along the lines of Ibadah. Whatever the reason, it is clear that Malaysia has been remarkably successful in innovating.
I am confident that the unique blend of expertise in our panel of speakers combined with your personal discovery of how to structure Islamic products through practical hands-on case studies will have opened the eyes of many of you to the richness and complexity of the products that can be offered as alternatives to conventional financial products.
The underlying reason for running IMP has not changed and will not change for many years to come: namely the rapid growth in the market and the resulting scarcity of talent and skills. I am sure that we will still be having IMP seminars in 10 years time.
Perhaps Islamic products might grow even faster if the pleas of some of our participants to minimise the use of Arabic were listened to. I have a student who has just finished his dissertation on CSR, Islamic finance and SRI and one of his conclusions was that the use of Arabic nomenclature was hurting the growth of the market because non-Muslims were confused by the terms and avoided investing in the products as a result. Jargon of all kinds has always been used to differentiate between the expert insider and the ignorant outsider to benefit of the initiated, so perhaps it is naive to expect that Arabic terms will be translated so that all can understand what is on offer and what its value proposition really is. After all, the attractiveness of Islamic products does not come from the language but from the superior value proposition and the existence of a moral compass when creating the products.
Once again I hope that you have found these days valuable and that you have been able to enjoy Malaysian and SC hospitality at its best. I also hope that you will not hesitate to stay in touch with us, suggesting ways in which we can improve the programme; and perhaps even recommend the IMP to your colleagues and friends.
Thank you for coming and I hope to see you again.