Article contributed by Ida Shaheeza Ismail, Officer (from Apr 2016) and Sarah Yong Li Hsien, Officer (until Mar 2016), Bar Council Islamic Finance Committee
Photos by Sarah Yong Li Hsien
The Bar Council Islamic Finance Committee (“IFC’) organised a series of seminars entitled “An Introduction to Islamic Finance” in Johore, Kelantan and Penang on 21 Jan, 21 Feb and 17 Mar, respectively.
The seminars aimed to introduce participants to the law and practice of Islamic banking and finance as currently applied in Malaysia. Participants were given an overview of the salient features of the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 (“IFSA 2013”), and were exposed to the drafting of Islamic fi¬nance documentation based on relevant Syariah principles. The seminars also covered the adjudication of Islamic fi¬nancial issues through litigation process.
The seminars began with the lively presentation by Jalalullail (“Jal”) Othman entitled “Salient Features of the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013”. The second speaker at the seminars was Megat Hizaini Hassan, who led the session on “Drafting Islamic Finance Documentation”, where he covered basic documentation and their differences, which many participants found to be essential and useful. Prof Dato’ Haji Mohamed Ismail Mohamed Shariff spoke on “Islamic Finance Litigation in Malaysia”, and he covered the basic principles of Islamic banking; comparison of conventional banking and Islamic banking; and some key cases in Islamic banking.
The feedback received was very positive, with many requests for similar seminars in the future.