Malaysia to be at the forefront of Islamic finance arbitration, says Sultan Nazrin

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia could become the preferred hub of Islamic finance arbitration, if more efforts to increase awareness about it are made, says Sultan Nazrin Shah.

The Perak Ruler also added that with the introduction of Islamic arbitration by the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC), the country would also become the centre point of arbitration in the Halal industries.

“As a leading centre for Islamic finance, Malaysia should continue to focus on this area of dispute resolution within the general framework of Islam.

“The AlAC would do well to gather a pool of experts in this area to become the preferred hub in Asia, specialising in Islamic finance arbitration, as well as in disputes within Halal industries,” he said during his keynote address at the Asia ADR Week 2022 opening ceremony here.

Sultan Nazrin added that the awareness of Islamic arbitration was still low, hence, it was important to increase the understanding and its benefits to stakeholders.

“Islamic arbitration provides a unique path to amicable dispute resolution for businesses in this space.

“By providing a confidential means of settling disputes and maintaining the mutual goodwill of the parties, it helps to promote more stable business relationships,” he said on Thursday (Oct 6).

He added that one of the distinctive features of the alternative arbitration was the need for an additional layer of consultation with either the Shariah council or a Shariah expert.

The added pre-arbitration process would increase the time taken to resolve any case, therefore, training Islamic arbitrators was also important.

“To address this issue, steps could be taken to train those with specialisation in Shariah, fiqh (jurisprudence) and muamalat (finance) as Islamic arbitrators.

“This would enable disputes to be resolved without the need to involve a Shariah Council or expert,” Sultan Nazrin said, adding that incentives and career paths must also be formulated for Shariah graduates.

“In other words, talent and human resources should be developed in the field of Islamic arbitration.”

Also present at the opening ceremony was Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and AIAC director Tan Sri Datuk Suriyadi Halim Omar.

Themed Compassus: The Odyssean Course to Modern Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), the conference will be held for the next three days until Saturday (Oct 8) at Bangunan Sulaiman here and online.