•    YBhg. Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, Chairman, Securities Commission, Malaysia

•    The Honourable Miss Au King Chi, Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and Treasury, Hong Kong

•    Dr Eddy Fong, Chairman, Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong

•    Distinguished guests, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen

Assalamualaikum waramatullahi wabarakatuh

Good morning everyone

1.    It is an honour for me to join you today to officiate and witness the signing of the Mutual Recognition Agreement on the development of Islamic Capital Market and the Islamic Collective Investment Schemes between the Securitties Commission Malaysia and the Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong.

2.    I welcome our friends from Hong Kong. It is indeed a pleasure to receive you as our guests.

3.    This collaborative effort by both Regulators in implementing the Mutual Recognition Agreement will contribute to the expansion of a financial infrastructure for the distribution of Islamic investment products over a wider community within the two jurisdictions. This expansion would also provide a new market for both parties, providing greater choice of opportunities for the consumers of investment products in Malaysia and Hong Kong.

4.    We are, of course, proud to have this association with Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. Hong Kong is a major global financial centre and today’s Agreement signals Malaysia growing stature as a leader in Islamic finance.

Ladies and gentlemen

5.    There was a time when environmental protection was considered a radical movement. Today, the politics and processes of conservation and sustainability of nature are in the mainstream. It is now part and parcel of everything we do, from Government policy-making to how we conduct our daily lives, cradle to grave.

6.    Similarly, we are now seeing issues that were once considered arguments promoted by NGOs at the fringes of international conferences moving into the general agenda. Since the outbreak of the present global economic crisis, in meetings with my counterparts from various countries, developed and developing economies, as well as the feedback that I have been receiving from the various supra-national development banks and financial institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and amongst ASEAN, the primary concern has been on the state and nature of the global financial industry and if there is an alternative financial system.

Ladies and gentlemen

7.    Today’s conventional banking system originated in its modern form during Renaissance, Italy with the Medicis acting as bankers to the various Catholic crowned heads of Europe. This system is now applied globally, notwithstanding the culture and religion of the community it serves.

8.    Just as the conventional financial system is applicable to all, Islamic finance is too not just for the Muslims. The pillars of Islamic finance are based on fundamental universal values of humanity. Fairness and justice for all transacting parties, the insistence on having every transaction to be directly linked to real economic activities, and the assurance that the transaction is not detrimental to the community are principles that are desirable in any society. This is what I would term as “a socially responsible financial system”.

Ladies and gentlemen

9.    Islamic finance has been viewed through lens too narrow. If Islamic finance is to progress beyond what it is today, it must escape from the confines of the endless arguments of multiple interpretations and indignant righteousness. We have to focus on the substance, not form. The universal values of humanity are applicable to all. Islamic finance need not be packaged in green; it can come in all colours. In fact, in today’s case, it would be red.

10.    I am proud to be here today. Today’s Mutual Recognition Agreement will allow the cross-selling of investment products in either jurisdiction. This is only possible when there is convergence of standards based on a set of universal values that both jurisdictions recognise.

11.    When science and technology was first introduced into nineteenth century Meiji Japan, it met with strong protests from the conservative elements in Japanese society. The reformists responded that science and technology does not belong to the West. Science and technology is in fact a gift of God, for all humanity. Those whom embrace will control the world

12.    Our common values are distinctly different from that of the traditional established economies of the West. As our global economic role grows, as we and our brother nations gain greater voice on the world’s stage, we Asians will be in an increasingly better position to offer a kinder and more inclusive alternative to the status quo. Asia can lead the way in providing an alternative to the existing global financial system, a socially responsible financial system.

Ladies and gentlemen

13.    I applaud the far-sightedness of both the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Securities Commission and Futures Commission for coming into today’s Agreement. It is my hope and wish that this is the beginning of a wider coverage of a socially responsible financial system over the entire Asian region.

14.    On this note, I thank YBhg. Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar and the Securities Commission for inviting me here today.

Thank you.