1. On behalf of the organising committee for KLIFF 2021, I have  great pleasure to welcome all the digitally registered  participants to 16th series of Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance  Virtual Forum or KLIFF.  
   
   
2. The 16th KLIFF is being held under the patronage of His Royal  Highness Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan  Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Al-Maghfur-Lah, the Sultan of Perak  Darul Ridzuan and the Royal Patron for Malaysia’s Islamic  Finance Initiative. 
   
   
3. It is by the grace of Allah the Almighty that we are able to  organise another instalment of KLIFF this year amidst  challenging situations and conditions the world over due to the  pandemic Covid 19. Different from the previous 15 KLIFF events since 2004, the 16th KLIFF 2021 will be brought to you via a digital  platform.
   

8. The Royal Speech which will mark the official opening for KLIFF  2021 is envisaged to provide the necessary insights and wisdoms  for the Islamic finance industry to consolidate and calibrate to  move forward towards setting the roadmap, as well as action  plan for economic recovery in the near and far future. 
   
   
9. The Royal Speech by His Royal Highness Sultan Nazrin  Muizzuddin Shah has been all along been the focal point of  attention in the past series of KLIFF. We are profoundly grateful  to His Royal Highness Sultan Nazrin for His Royal Highness’s unreserved support and encouragement for KLIFF all these  years. 
   

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

10. Setting the roadmap ahead is a must in all types of  industry, big or small. Obviously, Islamic finance is not an  exception. It is true that the mental courage to assess the past  and current landscape is equally essential before we firm out our  strategic steps for the future. In order to survive, all industry must permanently redefine itself, more so in this difficult time posed by pandemic Covid 19 onslaught. As the saying goes, the  only constant in life is change. 

11. What is next in the journey of unlocking the future is the  mental due diligence and intelligence to predict what would be  the new trends and expectations, and perhaps the pain points of  the stakeholders particularly of new and up-becoming  stakeholder.  
    
    
12. The ability to review the past and predict the future,  dealing with the big data of the industry and society alike, will  likely put the policy makers and the leading players on the centre  stage of action.  
    
    
13. Surely, all stakeholders from shareholders, regulators,  senior management and compliance officers, product  developers, as well as the customers and public at large, are  inspired to see the pervasive impact of new policies and  products on the ground. It is worth noting that in this modern  world, the impact measurement has become a new ideology. No  matter how much we do or plan to do, what is more respected  and admired by the people is their impact, be it economic or  social impact.
    
    
14. In order to find the right balance and alignment to build or  rebuild the grand design of economic recovery and economic  empowerment, we have brought to the centre stage of  discussion and deliberation a number of themes and issues in  this 16th series of KLIFF. 
    
    
15. We are also grateful to many leading speakers around the  world who are passionate to share their practical and intellectual  inputs and insights on many various themes and subject matters throughout these 2-day event. We strongly believe that your niche and hands-on contribution will make this forum a  distinguished and far-reaching event on this planet in the realm  of modern Islamic finance practices. 
    
    
16. We are indeed thankful to YB Senator Datuk Seri Utama  Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of Ministry of Finance  Malaysia for his participation in 16th KLIFF. We are also cognisant  of the relentless support by the Government of Malaysia  towards making Islamic finance one of the GDP contributions to  the nation.  
    
    
17. We are also grateful to Y. Bhg Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar,  Chairman of Bursa Malaysia for agreeing to speak at this event too. Both of them will be delivering special addresses right after  the Royal Speech. 

18. On behalf of the organising committee and all the  participants, it is my duty to thank all the speakers and  moderators to speak your great mind on the KLIFF platform. We  look forward for your active and insightful presentation on the  digital stage, which I am sure will impress the audience who are  tuning in to our forum from all over the world. We trust you are  able to make this forum distinctive, meaningful and impactful. 
    
    

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

19. There is one important fact that need to be recognised.  Without the tremendous support of all the sponsors, this event  might not materialise at all. I have the great duty to acknowledge  and thank all the sponsors for supporting us in one way or  another to make this event a reality. I would like to put on record  our special thank to CIMB Islamic for being the Main Sponsor of  KLIFF 2021. Our thanks also go to our gold sponsors comprising  of Bank Muamalat, Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah Darul Aman,  Permodalan Nasional Berhad, Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad,  Bursa Malaysia and AmBank Islamic. Our thanks go also to other  sponsors, partners and collaborators.
    
    
20. Before I end my welcoming speech, I feel inspired to thank  each and every participant who have been amazing in making all  the efforts to register for this event and to join us in this blessed  opening session by His Royal Highness Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin  Shah. The respond was so huge and massive so much so we need  to limit the participants up to 2,000 accounts only. We hope that  you will find this event insightful, stimulating, promising and  unlocking. 
    
    
21. Finally, on behalf of all my colleagues in the organising  committee, the speakers and moderators and the entire  participants, we feel both humbled and honoured to have His  Royal Highness kind participation in our event via recorded video  due to Covid 19 restrictions.  
    
    
22. Thank you for your kind listening and I would like to wish  everyone a productive and memorable event ahead of you.

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