Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
I started my career in conventional banking. Unfortunately, I was not one of the early birds that seized the opportunity to dive into this new area when Islamic finance was introduced in Malaysia in 1983. However, this may have been a blessing in disguise as coming in a little later allows one to have a good view of how the game is being played.
The biggest attraction for me is the fact that in Islamic finance, the world is your oyster and you have the entire Shariah corpus of law at your disposal to craft the product that you want.
What does your role involve?
I head the Islamic finance practice in the firm. I am also a sub-head of the conventional banking department. My primary role is to develop the Islamic finance practice in a holistic manner with emphasis on organic growth. As the firm was a little late in entering this area, my other primary role is to jump-start the department. Alhamdulillah, we have been successful in our quest and the challenge now is to sustain our present position and to fuel exponential growth.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
To instill the passion in Islamic finance in my conventionally trained lawyers. Like most conventional finance players, “conventionally” trained lawyers do have certain prejudices and pessimism against Islamic finance. Having changed the mindset, the legal vocation and training in Islamic finance comes quite naturally to these new “converts”. In fact, I’m happy to observe that this newfound passion in my “converted” lawyers has been a catalyst in leveraging their experience and know how in conventional finance and importing these into the area of Islamic finance.
Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
I find our best results in our advisory capabilities for new product development and our documentation and drafting skills in churning out the agreements for the transactions.
What are the strengths of your business?
The firm has a very strong grounding in all levels of conventional finance. We have leveraged on this to grow the Islamic finance practice. We have found cross disciplines to be useful and productive. The firm has also been traditionally strong for its research capabilities and this strength has successfully exported into the R&D for Islamic finance.
What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
We do not have a dedicated set of lawyers for Islamic finance. Our experience has shown that firm discipline in conventional finance and corporate law is certainly an advantage in the practice of Islamic finance. The lawyers are more able to assume a holistic approach to seeking solutions and are more balanced.
What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
As with the industry as a whole, we suffer from scarcity of human capital. It is some challenge for a young lawyer to learn on the job while at the same time balancing the very high demand on timelines and deliverables to clients. The scarcity of resource materials locally also hinders the delivery.
Where do you see the Islamic finance industry, maybe in the next five years?
Greater depth of instruments, greater pool of players and the merging of the primary markets. I see the gulf between the GCC and the rest of the world narrowing. Once this happens, there will be more room for innovation. This surge of innovation will, I hope, put to rest the nagging habit of replication and duplication of conventional products. I also hope to see Islamic finance reaching its pinnacle whereby Islamic finance is known more for its financing than its “Islamicness”.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance?
I would like to see a fresh re-branding taking place in the Islamic finance industry with an emphasis on the ethical and equitable side of the financing rather than an overplay of the Islamic play.
In 1965, Shook Lin & Bok set up a branch office in the Republic of Singapore. However, due to legislative changes in Malaysia in 1971, the Singapore branch became autonomous and continued as an independent law firm. From its humble origins as a sole practitioner established in 1918, Shook Lin & Bok has grown into one of the top three largest and oldest law firms in Malaysia today. From a litigation-oriented practice, the firm has evolved into a leading full service firm offering a comprehensive range of legal services to clients spanning the globe.