8th Muzakarah Cendekiawan Syariah Nusantara (MCSN 2014)
Johor, May 28-29th 2014 –International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) in collaboration with Kolej Pengajian Islam Johor (MARSAH), Johor Corporation and Institut Integriti Kepimpinan dan Latihan Semangat (IKLAS) has successfully organized Muzakarah Cendekiawan Shari’ah Nusantara (the Regional Shari’ah Scholar Dialogue). This year, the 8th Muzakarah Cendekiawan Shari’ah Nusantara (MCSN) was organized on the 28th and 29th of May, 2014 at Hotel Thistle, Johor Bahru.
The theme of this year Muzakarah is Addressing Challenges and Pioneering Innovation in Islamic Finance. The presentations and discussions were conducted in Malay language. The objective of the dialogue is to solve Shari’ah issues in Islamic finance, to enhance the existing collaborative efforts on Shari’ah matters and to strengthen the framework for cooperation and harmonization amongst Shari’ah scholars.
The two-day event was officiated by Y.B Datuk Haji Mohamad Bin Haji Aziz, Johor State Assembly Speaker, an official representative of the Chief Minister of Johor, Y.A.B. Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin. This event successfully attracted more than 250 delegates comprising muftis, scholars, academician, practitioners in Islamic financial institutions, and representatives of regulatory institutions from different countries in ASEAN region such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Australia. In total, there were nine (9) papers be presented.
The first day of the event began with presentation of resolutions of last year Muzakarah by Us.Mohd Kamal Mokhtar (Shariah Appeal Court –Singapore). Bank Negara Malaysia was exclusively invited to share the latest development of Islamic Finance in Malaysia particularly on the introduction of Islamic Financial Services Act 2013, which was presented by Tuan Haji Rustam bin Mohd Idris.
The first discussion session started with the presentation of papers by Associate Professor Dr. Asmadi Mohamed Naim (UUM- Malaysia) on the issue of al-ta’addi wa al-taqsir and Dr. Mohamed Fairooz Abdul Khir (ISRA) on fees and charges in actual cost. On the following session, there were three papers presented on takaful annuity retirement, each by Ustaz Mohammad Mahbubi Ali (ISRA), Dr. Yulizar D. Sanrego (Tazkia-Indonesia) and Tuan Haji Mohd Helmi Haji Ahmad (Hong Leong MSIG Takaful- Malaysia). Among the discussants are Us. Ahmad Suhaimi Yahya (KFH- Malayisa), Us.Mohd Kamal Mokhtar (Shariah Appeal Court –Singapore). Dr. Azman Mohd Noor (Rajhi Bank – Malaysia), Dr. Asmak Ab. Rahman (UM- Malaysia) and Ms. Rokilah Abdul Samat (CIMB- Singapore).
On the second day, the focus of discussion was on the ruling of dealing with non-shariah compliant funds on the asset and liability side. In the first session, two papers were presented by expert speakers like Dr. Oni Sahroni (National Sharia Board- Indonesia) and Ustaz Muhd Ramadhan Fitri Elias (Maybank Islamic- Malaysia). These papers were reviewed by Associate Professor Dr. Aznan Hassan (IIU – Malaysia), Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Metussin Hj Baki (High Court- Brunei), Ustaz Abdul Ghani Endut (CIMB Islamic- Malaysia). The second session has seen presentations by Ustaz Zaharudin Muhammad (Alliance Islamic Bank- Malaysia) and Dr. Wan Azhar Wan Ahmad (Standard Chartered Saadiq- Malaysia). This was followed by commentaries on papers by Professor Dr. Engku Rabiah Adawiah Engku Ali (SAC of Bank Negara – Malaysia) and Tuan Haji Muhammad Shukri bin Haji Ahmad (Monetary Authority- Brunei).
This two-day event witnessed lengthy discussions and healthy debates among Shari’ah scholars, in which they have provided enlightenment and solutions on the issues faced by the industry. Based on the survey received, most of the participants were satisfied with the input that they received throughout the event. The Muzakarah ended with a presentation of 14 resolutions formulated by the resolution committee which comprise representatives from the participating ASEAN country. This final session was chaired by Dr. Shamsiah Mohamad, a Senior Researcher at ISRA.
