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The Official launch of the Executive Diploma in Islamic Law (Islamic Banking And Finance) - A Collaboration between the International Islamic University Malaysia and the Bar Council

KUALA LUMPUR: The International Islamic University and the Bar Council launched the Executive Diploma in Islamic Law (Islamic Banking and Finance) programme on 15 February 2007. The launch was attended by Mr. Steven Thiru, Puan Hendon Mohamed and En. Rashid Ismail of the Professional Standards and Development Committee of the Bar Council and Professor Dato' Dr. Sano Koutoub Moustapha, Assoc. Professor Dr. Haji Azmi Bin Haji Harun and Professor Dato' Dr. Zaleha Kamarudin of IIUM.

Professor Dato' Dr. Sano, the Deputy Rector of IIUM said that under the 9th Malaysian Plan the government has emphasised the importance of Islamic banking in Malaysia. The government hopes that the Islamic banking industry will continue to expand parallel with conventional banking. By 2010, the Islamic banking industry is expected to constitute 20% of the overall banking and insurance market.

Professor Dato' Dr. Sano also said that the government intends to develop Malaysia as a Global Islamic Financial Hub which will serve as a platform for the origination, issuance and trading of Islamic capital market and treasury instruments, for fund and wealth management, offshore Islamic financial services market as well as takaful and retafakul business. This will be complemented by the formation of centers of excellence for education, training, consultancy and research in Islamic banking and finance.

Professor Dato' Dr. Sano further said that in the 2007 budget, the government has once again emphasised the development of Islamic banking in Malaysia. This was under the Accelerating the Development of Islamic Finance initiative. This shows that Malaysia has progressed significantly in the development of Islamic financial services, especially in terms of the size of investments, efficiency in services, diversity of products, well-developed infrastructure and an increase in the number of institutions. According to him, Malaysia is the country that issued the first global sukuk in 2002 which attracted investors especially from West Asia and we are also the first to issue the ringgit-denominated Islamic bonds, namely the International Finance Corporation.

Mr. Steven Thiru, the Chairman of the PSDC, said that in line with the government's plan as mentioned by Professor Dato' Dr. Sano, Bank Negara Malaysia intends to launch the Malaysian International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) initiative. In this regard, Bank Negara Malaysia is concerned that the local legal profession lacks the necessary legal expertise in particular areas of Islamic Banking and Finance Law and it intends to allow for the admission of foreign lawyers to practice in these areas. The Bar Council has expressed its reservations over the proposed initiative and has also objected to the admission of foreign lawyers in the manner suggested by Bank Negara Malaysia. The Bar Council is nevertheless determined to equip members of the Bar, through professional development programmes to face this challenge. The Executive Diploma programme is one of the steps undertaken by the Bar Council and about 30 members of the Bar have already registered for the programme.

Mr. Steven Thiru said that the course will begin on 23 February 2008. He stressed that it is a highly recommended programme which will immensely benefit students, both in the face of the Bank Negara Malaysia's MIFC initiative as well as in their practice. This programme will also enhance student's knowledge on Islamic commercial legal principles especially on Banking and Takaful. Mr. Thiru further said that the programme is also the first step in the Bar Council's plans to collaborate with universities and professional bodies to offer a buffet of professional development events for members. This will enable members to broaden their scope of knowledge in different areas of the law.

For those who are interested in registering for the programme, you may contact Ms. Linda Tey at 603-2032 4498 or email linda@malaysianbar.org.my.

Click here to download the registration form

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