Kuala Lumpur, 12 Sep 2022 – INCEIF University, through its subsidiary ISRA Consulting, recently organised two short courses for participants of the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP). With this, the university has developed and delivered 12 short courses in total for MTCP over a five-year period.

The latest courses, held for participants from the Philippines, were the Executive Certificate for Takaful Management Programme and Executive Certificate for Islamic Banking Management Programme.

Through interactive lectures and direct engagements with subject matter experts on Islamic finance, participants were exposed to underlying paradigm of Islamic finance such as Shariah, made to understand the global appeal of Islamic finance, and introduced to the major components and various instruments available in the industry.

For the Takaful Management course, 16 participants from Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas, Insurance Commission, and Securities and Exchange Commission were trained by Mr Ezamshah Ismail, Senior Teaching Fellow at INCEIF University.

Ms Siti Aishah Kamarul Abdul Wahid, Assistant Secretary, International Cooperation and Development (ICADD) at Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Prof Dato’ Dr Azmi Omar, President & CEO, INCEIF University, both welcomed participants with encouraging remarks at the start of the programme.

The Takaful Management course was developed to provide insights on the management of Takaful business where participants were exposed to the fundamental of Takaful regulatory framework, Takaful business models, and managing risk of Takaful business. They found the trainer “very spontaneous and has lots of experience”. They were optimistic that the knowledge gained was a good start and would be of significant help to make inroads into the Takaful industry in the Philippines. They also looked forward to continuous training to have a better grasp of the subject which was a new knowledge to them.

The second course, the Executive Certificate for Islamic Banking Management Programme, involved 20 participants from Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas, ASA Philippines Foundation Incorporation, Securities and Exchange Commission and National Bank of Philippine.

They were trained by Mr Abdul Rahman Mohd Yusoff, Teaching Fellow/ Deputy CEO of IC and Mr Ahmad Nazir Che-Yen, Advisor, Executive Education & Training, IC.  Dr Muhammad Syahmi Mohd Karim, Deputy President Operations, INCEIF University delivered the opening remarks while the closing remarks was delivered by Mr Mogen Selvaraja, Assistant Secretary, International Cooperation and Development (ICADD) at Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Prof Dr Ashraf Md Hashim, CEO, IC.

The course provided participants with an understanding and appreciation of the financial systems and the Islamic banking concepts & operations, including Shariah and legal frameworks, products and services offered, and functions of key business unit. Participants got to learn the important techniques in managing Islamic banking institutions to ensure that the institutions were viable and profitable.

Participants were “impressed with the trainer’s engaging deliveries and wise words which helped to magnify the programme’s cause in the best possible way.” They added that the programme created a great opportunity for the participating institutions and policymakers to formulate the national and institutional framework for the establishment of Islamic banking in the Philippines. They found the topics relevant and useful while the industry sessions gave invaluable insights to both operational and regulatory perspectives.

The trainers shared practical examples of incentives for Islamic bank operations which would be useful reference for the Philippines to encourage more Islamic banking players. They also shared common compliance issues encountered which regulators should keep an eye out for. The knowledge gained would be of significant help in promoting Islamic finance holistically not only in the Muslim Mindanao Region but also for the whole country.

The history of the MTCP Programme dates as far back to the First Commonwealth Heads of States (CHOGM) Meeting in Sydney in February 1978, where the idea was first conceived. The Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme was officially launched on 7 September, 1980 at the Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting in New Delhi, India, to signify Malaysia’s commitment to South-South cooperation, in particular Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries. In line with the spirit of South-South Cooperation, Malaysia through the MTCP shares its development experiences and expertise with other developing countries. The programme forms part of the commitment of the Malaysian Government towards promoting technical cooperation among developing countries, strengthening of regional and sub-regional cooperation, as well as nurturing collective self-reliance among developing countries.

As a knowledge leader in Islamic finance, INCEIF University is honoured to be part of the government’s initiatives to share the nation’s expertise in Islamic finance with other developing countries.

The university has been organising the short courses on diverse topics on Islamic finance since 2015. Among the past courses delivered were Islamic Microfinance Programme for Palestine Monetary Authority, Advancing & Converging Islamic Microfinance with Fintech for participants from Eastern, Central Europe & West Asia, and Building Critical Awareness of Opportunities in Islamic Finance for participants from Maldives.

Ends.