With better understanding, the likelihood of a Shariah convergence is higher and this will enable the creation and trading of Islamic financial instruments at the international arena to be more universally accepted, as interpretations will be uniform and consistent. Harmonisation of the differing views among the scholars from different schools of thought is necessary to enhance the global development of Islamic banking and finance. I believe, at this juncture, the right approach is to advocate mutual respect in any Shariah discourse where there are differences in opinions, interpretations and practices. To complement the efforts to create a sustainable and comprehensive Islamic financial system, consumer education and awareness on Islamic banking and finance should be extensively undertaken. Concerted efforts between the governments and Islamic financial fraternities should be engaged to develop such a consumer education programme. Such programmes would increase transparency on the virtues and availability of Islamic financial instruments offered by the Islamic financial institutions. How consumers can expect to benefit will depend on how well informed they are about the financial services being provided. Barriers across geographical boundaries can be removed by leveraging upon the advances on Information Communication Technology to create an integrated internet platform as means for the knowledge sharing on research findings, conference discussions, Shariah rulings and other vital information on Islamic banking and finance. Improvements can be made to the existing internet portals to be more comprehensive with linkages to other useful information providers. Equally important is the consumer protection infrastructure.
To aid the process of developing the financial markets, Bank Negara Malaysia has recently developed a website on the Islamic money market as a source of information on domestic Islamic financial instruments and to facilitate investment decisions and secure public confidence in their investment. The website aims to effectively meet the needs of bankers, financiers, statisticians, economists and prospective investors as well as increase awareness of the users - domestic and foreign. Moving forward, the website will be linked with other markets to serve as a platform for exchanging information and knowledge beyond our borders. The existence of a well-developed capital market is also important to provide users of capital with an alternative and cost efficient source of medium and long-term financing. It would also provide investors and savers with a wider range of financial instruments to suit their individual return and risk profiles as well as allow for better diversification of risks in the financial system. One of the linkages in this market is asset securitisation. Mortgage financing is an example of where the asset liability mismatch can be addressed. This would substantially improve the liquidity and quality of assets of the banking institutions, while at the same time contribute towards promoting the development of the capital market and secondary trading of instruments through the issuance mortgage-backed private debt securities. Over the years, the scope of securitisation activities can evolve and expand with the introduction of securitisation of Islamic hire and purchase or leased assets ending with ownership, and other types of leased financing.