On the rise: Indonesian muslimahs chat near a reflection of Indonesia's Stock Exchange board in Jakarta, Indonesia. The adoption of Islamic studies on banking and finance, has recently been taken more seriously principally as a direct result of the massive banking and financial debacles caused by sub-prime mortgages/financing in the USA. Picture: EPA
Monday, April 28, 2008
RESPECTFULLY, we refer to your report "Call to make Islamic Studies Job Oriented" (The Brunei Times April 9,2008). This vital objective is in fact a truism. It is basically a national necessity to produce "square pegs for square holes" (and vise-versa: round pegs for round holes). To produce the best fit.
In general, Islam primarily stresses the vital importance of good proper education both for this world and the Hereafter, and to earnestly, conscientiously seek work, to prove one's worth first before expecting financial and merit rewards. "My Lord! Increase me in knowledge (The Holy Quran: Surah Taha (20): Verse 114). "Seek knowledge even as far as going to China" (Hadith).
Contributions of Islam in various areas of science, medicine and technology, even in environmental sphere — a very hot global issue, are historically many and great. The Holy Quran contains a wealth of Divine Guidance for the benefit of mankind.
For examples "The Quran and the Modern Science" written by French scientist Dr Mau rice Bucaille (who later embraced Islam); "The Muslim Scientists by Mohammad Yasin Owadally; "Science and Civilisation in Islam" by Sayed Hossein Nasir; Islam and Science by Perez Hoodbtay, and numerous other similar books and materials as those authored by Harun Yahya: "The Quran Leads The Way to Science", "The creation of the Universe", "Miracles of the Quran" are a solid evidence of the vital importance of Islamic studies in our socio-economic-scientific-technological progress and development.
On the economics, finance, banking, business and trade, management, there are also numerous printed materials on the Divine Guidance, some specific, some with nuance inferences that can only be unravelled by people of understanding (intelligent and God fearing).
In passing, Islamic finance and banking have now grown from, in the 1970s, being practiced only by a handful of Islamic countries into a rapidly spreading global phenomenon, from New York to Japan. Scepticism and prejudices have tuned into global acceptance and competition for a piece of global Islamic finance.
The adoption of the principles and practice of Islamic banking and finance has recently been taken more seriously principally as a direct result of the massive banking and financial debacles caused by sub-prime mortgages/financing in the USA. Currently it is estimated involving almost US$1 trillion losses and rising. These losses have been mainly caused by the so called creative financial engineering, greed and laxity.
(Basically creative financial engineering involves creation of paper wealth by more creation of virtual paper wealth, rather than by actual creation of real assets, goods and services as strictly required by Islamic banking/finance principles and practice. In Islam, creation of money by adding money and more money through interest/riba and multiplication of paper wealth without involving actual production of real assets, goods and services is haram (unlawful) Islamic economics/finance demands equity. Thus costs of borrowing are fixed, certain. Both the lender and borrower equally share the risk either way. Please read for example "Monetary-Issues-The State (Brunei) Mufti's Fatwa")
The general positive indication is very clear. There will be a rapid and greater practice of Islamic banking and finance worldwide. Consequently there will be a greater demand for those who are well qualified in relevant Islamic studies: laws, economics, banking, finance, accounting, management and the like.
The reason being that these subjects are directly related to every day needs of man. Man daily needs involve economic activities which are propelled by finance. Finance is the lifeblood of researches in sciences and technologies, their development and production which in turn requires marketing,distribution, business and trade, their repairs and maintenance. All these sequences and processes require direct human intervention. This is economic growth.
Thus, it is so obvious that our school children be given and they acquire the necessary, relevant education (and training) in science subjects based on Islamic studies and understanding, and they be given training in these secular -plus-religious-disciplines.
A proper blending of those Islamic economics, banking, finance, laws, management with maths, sciences, medicine, technology is a very powerful, relevant academic asset, reinforces by training and apprenticeship. In fact this was the historical strength of Islam.
(It is illuminating to trace back our academic qualifications about 40 years ago. In those days "O" level standard was sufficient to secure a job in government. You were then a peacock among the fowls. In 1970's "A" level became a necessity, one then felt so great. Then came 1980's: first degrees were gradually becoming common. In the 1990's master degrees became a competitive edge. Now in 2008 having first, master degrees and even Ph Ds need to fit in with the right shapes of the holes. The competition for job has become more acute and keen. The supply of educated manpower now exceeds its demand. Everyone is just an ordinary fowl. Intelligence, experience, personal exertion and acute sense for national success are now the vital ingredients.)
It is vital to bear in mind that a steady, consistent expansion of the industry of banking and finance is the direct product of a dynamic, expanding interplay of actual demand and supply for industrial production of actual goods and services: a mixture of scientific, modern and conventional consumer and investment goods and services.
This interplay creates employment opportunities, and consequently, through the expansionary macro-economic-multiplier-effect, individual income and hence the national income is raised.
Thus, what is commonly overlooked in this issue of producing "square pegs for square holes (not square pegs for round holes )" is that we have now been having a rapid increase in the supply of school leavers and graduates (both from the religious and secular streams) entering the national labour market.
The increase is directly the result of our relatively high national birth rate vis-a-vis a lethargic, some said stagnant even contracting economic growth.
This is a classic situation of too many job seekers with various qualifications and traits chasing, competing for fewer jobs in a lethargic economic performance. It is no longer a situation where supply creates its our demand.
We now must create demand first in order to absorb most, if not all, the increasing supply of labour.Thus, if the supply of labour is increasing rapidly than the demand for it, the national situation is bound to get worse.
(We ignore those who voluntarily choose to be unemployed due to their skewed desire for "secure income-fixed time" jobs in government, and those having a laid—back characteristic—the crutch, mentality individuals.)
Development economic experts, the World Bank and others, highlighted the empirical evidences that bureaucratic pathological anti-business attitude, actions and their cross purposes were the principal sturdy binding constraints that smothered the births of businesses. This has been nationally self-destructive.
Anti-business bureaucrats who receive guaranteed monthly income and enjoy secured jobs are very efficient and effective in illegalising businesses rather than having the understanding and empathy of midwiving a business to be born, growing and multiplying.
The potential of businesses creating employment opportunities and hence generating income is almost infinite compared with the capacity of government to create and generate likewise. This is globally self-evident.
To quickly and effectively prevent this bureaucratic self-inflicted national economic anorexia, there must be a radical forced feeding of "entrepreneurial vitamins" into the mindset of those bureaucrats to make them into what the Singaporean pioneer mandarins called their civil servants as "entrepreneurial civil servants".
(For example refer; "The pioneer mandarins," The Strait Times Nov 14,2007; "Dynamic Governance-Embedding Culture, Capabilities and Change in Singapore," authored Prof Boon Siong NEO and Prof Geraldine Chan; "Living the Singapore Dream" by Tan Yong Soon; "Singaporean's Success-Engineering Economic Growth" by Henri Ehesquiere.)
It is proven that only by having effectively eliminated those self-inflicted bureaucratic suffocating binding constraints we could have the required entrepreneurial civil servants who fully understand the business problems being constantly experienced by the risk-takers-investors: the creators of employment opportunities and generators of income, both at the individual and national levels.
Successful, growing and multiplying business are the absorbers of least 80 per cent of those entering the labour market, provided of course they are earnest, genuine seekers for long term employment in the private sector.
They must have the indomitable personal drive to be successful in the private sector. So, we must quickly and effectively eliminate those bureaucratic anti-business binding constraints.
The unemployment pressure is getting more increasingly openly debated to the extend that its cause and effect is increasingly slanted towards erecting more hurdles against those most needed foreign workers.
"They do the jobs we can't or won't do" excepted from "Immigrants-your country need them" by Philippe Legrain. "Another book: International Migration in Southeast Asia" edited by Aris Ananta and Evi Nurvidya Arifin is an eyeopener.
It is commonly said that a wrong diagnosis and wrong prescription can cause death.
Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Orang Kaya Lela Raja Dato Seri Laila Jasa Haji Awang Abdul Rahman bin Haji Abdul Karim DSLJ, PJK was formerly Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defence. The views expressed by Pehin Dato Rahman Karim are his own and do necessarily reflect those of The Brunei Times.
In general, Islam primarily stresses the vital importance of good proper education both for this world and the Hereafter, and to earnestly, conscientiously seek work, to prove one's worth first before expecting financial and merit rewards. "My Lord! Increase me in knowledge (The Holy Quran: Surah Taha (20): Verse 114). "Seek knowledge even as far as going to China" (Hadith).
Contributions of Islam in various areas of science, medicine and technology, even in environmental sphere — a very hot global issue, are historically many and great. The Holy Quran contains a wealth of Divine Guidance for the benefit of mankind.
For examples "The Quran and the Modern Science" written by French scientist Dr Mau rice Bucaille (who later embraced Islam); "The Muslim Scientists by Mohammad Yasin Owadally; "Science and Civilisation in Islam" by Sayed Hossein Nasir; Islam and Science by Perez Hoodbtay, and numerous other similar books and materials as those authored by Harun Yahya: "The Quran Leads The Way to Science", "The creation of the Universe", "Miracles of the Quran" are a solid evidence of the vital importance of Islamic studies in our socio-economic-scientific-technological progress and development.
On the economics, finance, banking, business and trade, management, there are also numerous printed materials on the Divine Guidance, some specific, some with nuance inferences that can only be unravelled by people of understanding (intelligent and God fearing).
In passing, Islamic finance and banking have now grown from, in the 1970s, being practiced only by a handful of Islamic countries into a rapidly spreading global phenomenon, from New York to Japan. Scepticism and prejudices have tuned into global acceptance and competition for a piece of global Islamic finance.
The adoption of the principles and practice of Islamic banking and finance has recently been taken more seriously principally as a direct result of the massive banking and financial debacles caused by sub-prime mortgages/financing in the USA. Currently it is estimated involving almost US$1 trillion losses and rising. These losses have been mainly caused by the so called creative financial engineering, greed and laxity.
(Basically creative financial engineering involves creation of paper wealth by more creation of virtual paper wealth, rather than by actual creation of real assets, goods and services as strictly required by Islamic banking/finance principles and practice. In Islam, creation of money by adding money and more money through interest/riba and multiplication of paper wealth without involving actual production of real assets, goods and services is haram (unlawful) Islamic economics/finance demands equity. Thus costs of borrowing are fixed, certain. Both the lender and borrower equally share the risk either way. Please read for example "Monetary-Issues-The State (Brunei) Mufti's Fatwa")
The general positive indication is very clear. There will be a rapid and greater practice of Islamic banking and finance worldwide. Consequently there will be a greater demand for those who are well qualified in relevant Islamic studies: laws, economics, banking, finance, accounting, management and the like.
The reason being that these subjects are directly related to every day needs of man. Man daily needs involve economic activities which are propelled by finance. Finance is the lifeblood of researches in sciences and technologies, their development and production which in turn requires marketing,distribution, business and trade, their repairs and maintenance. All these sequences and processes require direct human intervention. This is economic growth.
Thus, it is so obvious that our school children be given and they acquire the necessary, relevant education (and training) in science subjects based on Islamic studies and understanding, and they be given training in these secular -plus-religious-disciplines.
A proper blending of those Islamic economics, banking, finance, laws, management with maths, sciences, medicine, technology is a very powerful, relevant academic asset, reinforces by training and apprenticeship. In fact this was the historical strength of Islam.
(It is illuminating to trace back our academic qualifications about 40 years ago. In those days "O" level standard was sufficient to secure a job in government. You were then a peacock among the fowls. In 1970's "A" level became a necessity, one then felt so great. Then came 1980's: first degrees were gradually becoming common. In the 1990's master degrees became a competitive edge. Now in 2008 having first, master degrees and even Ph Ds need to fit in with the right shapes of the holes. The competition for job has become more acute and keen. The supply of educated manpower now exceeds its demand. Everyone is just an ordinary fowl. Intelligence, experience, personal exertion and acute sense for national success are now the vital ingredients.)
It is vital to bear in mind that a steady, consistent expansion of the industry of banking and finance is the direct product of a dynamic, expanding interplay of actual demand and supply for industrial production of actual goods and services: a mixture of scientific, modern and conventional consumer and investment goods and services.
This interplay creates employment opportunities, and consequently, through the expansionary macro-economic-multiplier-effect, individual income and hence the national income is raised.
Thus, what is commonly overlooked in this issue of producing "square pegs for square holes (not square pegs for round holes )" is that we have now been having a rapid increase in the supply of school leavers and graduates (both from the religious and secular streams) entering the national labour market.
The increase is directly the result of our relatively high national birth rate vis-a-vis a lethargic, some said stagnant even contracting economic growth.
This is a classic situation of too many job seekers with various qualifications and traits chasing, competing for fewer jobs in a lethargic economic performance. It is no longer a situation where supply creates its our demand.
We now must create demand first in order to absorb most, if not all, the increasing supply of labour.Thus, if the supply of labour is increasing rapidly than the demand for it, the national situation is bound to get worse.
(We ignore those who voluntarily choose to be unemployed due to their skewed desire for "secure income-fixed time" jobs in government, and those having a laid—back characteristic—the crutch, mentality individuals.)
Development economic experts, the World Bank and others, highlighted the empirical evidences that bureaucratic pathological anti-business attitude, actions and their cross purposes were the principal sturdy binding constraints that smothered the births of businesses. This has been nationally self-destructive.
Anti-business bureaucrats who receive guaranteed monthly income and enjoy secured jobs are very efficient and effective in illegalising businesses rather than having the understanding and empathy of midwiving a business to be born, growing and multiplying.
The potential of businesses creating employment opportunities and hence generating income is almost infinite compared with the capacity of government to create and generate likewise. This is globally self-evident.
To quickly and effectively prevent this bureaucratic self-inflicted national economic anorexia, there must be a radical forced feeding of "entrepreneurial vitamins" into the mindset of those bureaucrats to make them into what the Singaporean pioneer mandarins called their civil servants as "entrepreneurial civil servants".
(For example refer; "The pioneer mandarins," The Strait Times Nov 14,2007; "Dynamic Governance-Embedding Culture, Capabilities and Change in Singapore," authored Prof Boon Siong NEO and Prof Geraldine Chan; "Living the Singapore Dream" by Tan Yong Soon; "Singaporean's Success-Engineering Economic Growth" by Henri Ehesquiere.)
It is proven that only by having effectively eliminated those self-inflicted bureaucratic suffocating binding constraints we could have the required entrepreneurial civil servants who fully understand the business problems being constantly experienced by the risk-takers-investors: the creators of employment opportunities and generators of income, both at the individual and national levels.
Successful, growing and multiplying business are the absorbers of least 80 per cent of those entering the labour market, provided of course they are earnest, genuine seekers for long term employment in the private sector.
They must have the indomitable personal drive to be successful in the private sector. So, we must quickly and effectively eliminate those bureaucratic anti-business binding constraints.
The unemployment pressure is getting more increasingly openly debated to the extend that its cause and effect is increasingly slanted towards erecting more hurdles against those most needed foreign workers.
"They do the jobs we can't or won't do" excepted from "Immigrants-your country need them" by Philippe Legrain. "Another book: International Migration in Southeast Asia" edited by Aris Ananta and Evi Nurvidya Arifin is an eyeopener.
It is commonly said that a wrong diagnosis and wrong prescription can cause death.
Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Orang Kaya Lela Raja Dato Seri Laila Jasa Haji Awang Abdul Rahman bin Haji Abdul Karim DSLJ, PJK was formerly Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defence. The views expressed by Pehin Dato Rahman Karim are his own and do necessarily reflect those of The Brunei Times.