Islamic finance as a way of life gaining momentum
Source : Danial Norjidi
22 Apr, 2018
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Various aspects of Islamic banking and finance were discussed during a forum session held yesterday during a symposium organised by Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD).
Entitled ‘Islamic Banking and Finance: An Emerging Model for Business’, the discussion was moderated by Haji Mohd Khairul Nazif bin Haji Damit, and saw a panel of experts respond to various questions pertaining to Islamic banking and finance.
The panel was comprised of Dr Mohd Hairul Azrin bin Haji Besar, lecturer and researcher of Islamic Accounting and Finance from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD)’s School of Business and Economics; Dr Aznan Hasan, Associate Professor at the International Islamic University of Malaysia; and Dr Zaharuddin Abdul Rahman, Managing Director of Elzar Shariah Solution Sdn Bhd.
During the session, Dr Mohd Hairul Azrin responded to questions regarding Islamic banking and finance in the country.
He highlighted that in Brunei Darussalam, Islamic banking is now an industry that is accepted as a norm, and as something crucial and important.
“We see that Islamic finance and Islamic banking are not just subscribed by Muslims, but also by non-Muslims,” he said, while also noting that Islamic banking has a large market share in Brunei.
“We also see different kinds of asset management companies joining the industry in Brunei and this shows the acceptance of industry in Brunei.”
He also affirmed that Islamic finance is not just a mechanism of finance but a way of life. Dr Zaharuddin responded to a question on how Islamic finance can help small and medium enterprises (SMEs), saying, “Islamic finance is not only limited to institutions and institutional products. It comes directly from scholars and can guide the growth of SMEs.”
He noted that Syariah-compliant agencies offering Syariah products can be advantageous to SMEs. “I do believe that these SMEs can benefit from these non-Riba transactions.”
He also spoke on the role that Syariah scholars can play in providing advice to SMEs and entrepreneurs. He underlined the need to groom more junior Syariah scholars.”
Meanwhile, Dr Aznan Hasan responded to a question regarding Fintech (financial technology). He said that Fintech is new and disruptive technology, and that it provides a new way of looking at banking.
“In fact if the bank works well with Fintech, it is going to help the bank to further accelerate the growth,” he said.
He highlighted that Islamic banking can benefit a lot through mobile apps, easier banking processes as well as smart collaboration.
