Dato’ Adnan Alias has played a pivotal role in Islamic financial training on a global level. As CEO of Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM), he is regarded as a key player in Islamic financial advisory and training not only in Malaysia but also regionally and globally. Under his dynamic leadership, IBFIM received two GIFAs – Best Islamic Finance Qualification 2012 and Best Islamic Finance Training Provider 2014. ISFIRE team recently interviewed him to look into the personality of a leader in Islamic financial training and his role as an important stakeholder in the Islamic financial services industry in Malaysia.
Please tell us about Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM), what it is, what it aims for and what are the different segments within it.
IBFIM’s core mandate is talent development in Islamic finance. But IBFIM is not just a training institute. It serves the industry in a wide range of scope that includes establishment of Islamic financial institutions, conversion from conventional organization or system to Islamic, Shari’a advisory, Shari’a audit, stock screening, and Islamic finance contents or knowledge development, publications and dissemination of knowledge. IBFIM has its own training, advisory and knowledge management teams. The team members are all industry practitioners. IBFIM looks forward to working in partnership with other institutions globally.
Please tell us your relationship with Bank Negara Malaysia and why do we need IBFIM in Islamic banking and finance industry.
The driving force for the formation of IBFIM was the clear strategic move by the government of Malaysia particularly Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
The Financial Sector Master plan of 2001-2010 clearly specifies the need to accelerate the talent development infrastructure for the Islamic finance sector. That became IBFIM’s mandate until today. Subsequently, IBFIM evolves in its role as per industry needs. At the outset, BNM made the right moves in identifying the 5 strategic pillars in developing Islamic finance. I must say that the pillars constitute a complete Eco-system and within each pillar again there’s an array of elements constituting a sub-environment, if you may. One of the pillars is talent development. With BNM’s ingenuity, at present I must say, we have a complete landscape for talent development. That’s where IBFIM is besides also serving the industry in business development.
Please share with us who are your clients and how have you assisted them.
IBFIM caters to the 4 sectors: Islamic banking, takaful, capital market and wealth management. IBFIM serves financial and non-financial institutions, business as well as non-business entities, and regulators and operators. IBFIM provides progression route for talent development, recognised and accredited industry qualifications, Shari’a business advisory, Islamic knowledge contents, and event management. IBFIM works closely with regulators and industry associations. Needless to add that IBFIM is a not-for-profit organization.
How are you different to other institution like INCEIF in education and ISRA?
IBFIM was launched in 2001 as an industry-owned institute dedicated to producing well-trained, high-competence personnel and executives with the required talent in the Islamic finance industry.
IBFIM has ventured beyond the above sectors. It contributes also to the development of Islamic finance among non-financial institutions. These are entities which are not licensed by either the Central Bank or the Securities Commission but equally passionate in their drive towards Islamic finance.
Their learning curve is much steeper as through IBFIM they could learn, adopt and adapt the 30 years experiences of the core sectors in Islamic finance.
IBFIM is not just a training institute. It is a one-stop partner for the Islamic finance industry. Its mandate Interview remains within talent management though. Our involvement in Shari’a advisory functions and knowledge management are captured in our training modules to enrich the learning experiences.
Furthermore, our continuous engagements with the academic partners help bridge the gap between industry and the university. IBFIM is by the industry and for the industry. All our subject matter experts, trainers, advisers and consultants are from the industry.
INCEIF is a university; ISRA is into Shari’a research; and we work together. In Shari’a advisory, IBFIM specializes in Shari’a unit trust and funds management, Shari’a audit, stock screening and other business of Shari’a compliances. Where there’s a need for complementarity, we work with ISRA. To us the boundary is clear; no issue of being plethoric.
IBFIM has received a lot of prominence due to its Knowledge Management Centre which is equipped with books in Arabic, English and Bahasa Melayu. Please shed some light on the Knowledge Management Centre and its aims and objectives.
IBFIM’s Knowledge Management Centre (KMC) is not just about books; it is about managing knowledge. Our KMC is evolving from a library to a complete knowledge management center. It started as a library but now is also into publishing and distributing books. Drawing from the synergies within the organization, especially coming from the dynamism of its interactions with the other departments like Training, Shari’a Business Advisory and Event Management, the KMC is slowly managing knowledge albeit admittedly, painstakingly. We have identified the next few milestones for KMC before it truly becomes a global knowledge management center. One is a knowledge registry. IBFIM’s KMC is no more a neophyte publisher now; it is a main player in Islamic finance publications with more than 60 titles to its credit within a short period of time. It has a niche bookshop offering current and quality Islamic books to book contractors, libraries, institutional buyers and individuals. Alhamdulillah, moving forward we hope to meet our final aim of doing justice to knowledge.
Access to high-quality talent and leadership remains a challenge for Islamic banking and finance industry globally. How is IBFIM assisting the industry in filling this gap?
Two quick ways: meet industry needs and bridge industry-university gap. That takes care of the quantitative aspect of talent development. Tactically, adopt variegated approach: identify affiliates, have public programmes, in-house programmes, blended learning, coaching, etc. We believe in an open environment approach. The leaders need not necessarily be groomed within the Islamic finance industry. However, once they have been earmarked, there must be a systematic, concerted effort to prepare them to take up the role. As mentioned earlier, we continue to develop multiple learning methodologies. We offer Islamic finance technical coaching for the C-suites. Our earning offerings are now available as part of the blended learning experiences. Qualitatively, again IBFIM adopts a two-pronged strategy. Centrifugally, meet industry needs, and centripetally, impress upon the industry on external standard. Harmonies the two. Then, gradually introduce the desired model of Islamic business universe.
What more can be done to overcome this challenge in the shortest time-frame?
There’s no short-cut if we were to do it right. Talent development is very much a function of the model of the universe one is in. What is the right model of Islamic finance? We aver that it is back to the basics, namely the maqasid al-shari’a.
Operationalizing the maqasid al-Shari’a paradigm and getting the right frame of mind into the talents are daunting tasks but achievable. In my addresses, I have illustrated some cases or comparisons to show that it can be done. Very briefly, if there’s an official move from the narrow concept of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) to the wider concept of CR (Corporate Responsibility), what’s stopping Islamic finance shifting paradigm from the conventional business model of the narrow bottom-line definition to an Islamic business model with expanded definition of bottom-line befitting the maqasid? Look at the very basic idea of takaful; what a beautiful concept of civic and community business it offers. Unfortunately, we confuse that with the conventional idea of a business.
What are the short, medium and long-term plans of IBFIM? Are there any plans to open offices outside Malaysia?
We believe in strategic partnerships, be it within the Islamic finance training fraternity or with the academic world. That would allow IBFIM to be visible without the need to be physically present. We tried few years back to have offices in abroad but logistically it was not feasible for a not-for-profit organization like IBFIM. In the short term, IBFIM will wrap-up its first round of Capacity Building Projects (2012-2014). In the medium term, IBFIM is gearing up for its next series of Capacity Building Projects (2014-1016). For the long-term, IBFIM has already embarked on the initial planning for its journey into professionalism and standard setting together with the relevant organizations.
IBFIM received an award at the Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) 2012 in Kuala Lumpur and then again this year at Dubai, please share your thoughts on these two awards.
IBFIM doesn’t go for awards. We do not self-nominate. The “Best Qualification in Islamic Finance” award came as a surprise. We thought, well, someone recognised our flagship certification namely, CQIF (Certified Qualification in Islamic Finance) as it is an innovation within the Islamic Finance Qualifications Framework and Progression Route which in itself is an innovation too. The Framework fulfills industry need for flexible and progressive learning with added value like bridging the industry-university gap. Upon receiving it, we realised that the industry is acknowledging that IBFIM has made a meaningful contribution in the space of talent development. We are grateful for that and actually it could only spur us to work harder.
Again this year, Global Islamic Finance Awards honoured us with even a bigger recognition, as we received Best Islamic Finance Training Provider 2014 award. I believe the Awards Committee must have studied our whole business model and decided that recognition of our CQIF was not sufficient.
I, and my team, are happy to be recognised by the industry for the hard work we have put into developing the required talent for the Islamic financial services industry.
We recently interviewed Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Razak who mentioned of IBFIM in his interview. How has the support of current government benefited IBFIM?
Munificent policies from the government create the right environment; real support from government ministries, departments and agencies gave the impetus and fuel to drive forward. We are not saying this as a PR exercise. The Malaysian government’s unflinching support to IBFIM is beyond doubt. To name a few, the industry-academic collaboration has been facilitated by the Ministry of Education. Our international foray would not be made possible without their recommendations at G to G level. Of course, the ever-champion of Islamic finance, Bank Negara Malaysia, is always there for us. We can’t recall another central bank that is so committed to Islamic finance than our Bank Negara. We can’t be asking for more.
All that IBFIM has achieved would not have been possible without the hard work, commitment and support of your team, please share your views on the team and how do you motivate them as their leader.
Team IBFIM is a great team that we are proud of; we are a family. IBFIM’s corporate mission statement of upholding Shari’a in prospering the financial services sector, and IBFIM’s corporate values, namely noble and novel, say it all. The spirit of da’awa binds and energizes the team. Well, serving in the name of Allah is always a motivation.
Share with us your journey into Islamic banking and finance and how you became a firm believer in the concepts of Islamic economics.
In-shaa-Allah I’ll share the intellectual journey. In 1990 I wrote a book on Islamic Entrepreneurship. I was then a Professor of Entrepreneurship. I believe, the bases of Islamic Entrepreneurship are Islamic Finance and Islamic Economics, in that order. You can’t move forward the top two bricks namely, entrepreneurship and finance, independent of the economic base. All (bricks) have to move in tandem. After all, entrepreneurship and finance are Siamese twins that fire up the economy, and Islamic finance is based on real economy. What if the Islamic finance brick moves ahead of the rest as what is happening now? Well, now, there are already voices lamenting the disconnect between halal food and halal financing. It behoves one to wonder whether we can have halal financing resting on non-halal economy. Is there any nation that has operationalized Islamic Economics into Islamic Economies? ‘Holistically’ is important now, that we have covered the path of initial gradual transformation in Islamic finance. By ‘holistically’.
I mean, the harmonious movement forward of the three bricks, and the expanded scope of halal sector to include not just food but financing and economic considerations.
What are some of the most exciting projects IBFIM has worked upon?
Sharing with the international community was always exciting and fulfilling. Doing a second opinion on stock screening for an international client few years back was interesting. Lots of learning on both sides. In the end, our quantitative and qualitative approach took precedence over the usual quantitative approach. Well, all in all, whatever IBFIM has done, Alhamdulillah, benefits others and us too; in all humility, we are learning from others too. Projects and activities in and for Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Kyrgyzstan, England, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Palestine, and Afghanistan are equally exciting. I wish we could do more; there were places that we were ready to move in but politically non-permitting. How we value peace!
What next for IBFIM?
Bank Negara Malaysia and Islamic finance industry have been very committed and kind enough to give IBFIM the direction and support. Malaysia is not interested in being THE leader in Islamic finance; Malaysia wants to connect and partner the rest of the world in moving Islamic finance forward. IBFIM wants to increase NIFTI’s activism. The Network of Islamic Finance Training Institute (NIFTI) is a loose network of about 30 global institutes that needs to be active and contributing positively among others to talent development.
IBFIM needs to internationalise the complete talent development Eco-system that Malaysia already has. By internationalisation, I mean sharing; and it will be both ways; what we have and what others have. We need to co-learn. Within that context, IBFIM, inshaaAllah will pursue professionalism of Islamic finance qualifications and that includes working in tandem with other institutions for accreditation and standard setting. IBFIM’s Knowledge Management Centre and Shari’a advisory services and consultancy will certainly enrich the experience along that trajectory IBFIM has plotted, in-shaa- Allah.
