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I had the pleasure of catching up Datuk Seri Shamsul in recently at the Malaysian Parliament and he kindly took some time out to jump on the podcast. Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar was appointed to the role of Senior Political Secretary to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Before this he was the Deputy Minister of Primary Industries under the former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and he was the former Member of Parliament (MP) for Hang Tuah Jaya and for Bukit Katil.

He is also the Vice President of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the ruling PH coalition. Datuk Seri Shamsul has been dubbed the giant-killer after he managed to defeat the then Melakan chief minister Ali Rustam for the Bukit Katil parliamentary seat in 2013.

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I’m super excited about this episode. It’s very rare to come across someone who has excelled so much in the corporate world and at the same time has done so much for the community. Through knowing Moustafa I now realise that anything is possible with belief and sheer determination. I remember when he said, 'I'm going to build an Islamic museum' I naively thought, 'How is that even possible? You'd have to raise at least $2m'. Not only did he do that, he raised another $10m and built the first Islamic Museum in the Western world. We now have a waqf institution that will inshallah continue to educate people for generations. I personally owe so much to Moustafa and I certainly would not have had the opportunities I have had if it wasn’t for him and his family.

Moustafa Fahour OAM is the current Chief Operating Officer of Plenary Middle East and is the founder of the Islamic Museum of Australia. Formerly the CEO and Managing Director of one of the leading diversified international contractors in the Middle East, based in Dubai. He has over 22 years of experience in the banking industry, construction, management and has held senior roles with CIMIC Group, Macquarie Bank, National Australia Bank, UBS and Citigroup. In addition to that, Moustafa Chaired the redevelopment of the Umar Ibn al-Khattab Masjid in Preston, VIC.

He was recognised with the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) by the Australian Government in 2015, was selected as one of The World's Most Influential Young Arabs under the age of 40, by Arabian Business and the distinguished Alumni Award by La Trobe University in 2016.

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In this episode, I speak to my brother-in-law James (Bungas) Inglis who has been a mentor to me my whole life alhumdulilah. We talk about the need to develop a savings mindset and he give some tips and techniques on how we can save at each phase of our life. James is a Financial Planner with Adelaide Wealth Management and prior to that he held various roles at Macquarie Bank, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

*Disclaimer: The topics and themes mentioned in this episode does not constitute financial product advice, we recommend seeing an accredited financial adviser for your personal financial advisory needs.

James Inglis is a Financial Planner with Adelaide Wealth Management and has over 13 years advisory experience.

He specialises in personal insurance focusing on death, total & permanent disability, trauma and income protection cover. James provides advice to professionals, including those with industry specific insurance requirements, such as medical practitioners.

Prior to Adelaide Wealth Management, James held a senior private client manager position at Macquarie Bank, providing specialised personal insurance advice for over 7 years.

James has a Commerce (Corporate Finance) degree from the University of Adelaide and a Diploma of Financial Planning from Kaplan Professional.

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This is the second part of our discussion with one of the biggest movers and shakers in the Islamic finance industry Oz Ahmed (CEO, Al-Rajhi Bank, Malaysia). In this episode, we track his rapid rise to becoming one of the youngest CEOs of HSBC and in Malaysia. We cover Value-Based Intermediation (VBI) a move towards re-orienting Islamic finance business models towards realising the Maqasid al-Shariah (Objectives of Shariah). We also discuss Al-Rajhi's innovative approach to 'Unbanking the bank'.

Arsalaan 'Oz' Ahmed

Oz is the current Chief Executive Officer of Al-Rajhi Bank Malaysia and is a recognised leader in Islamic finance with over 15 years in financial services, he has extensive experience in wholesale and retail banking across Europe, GCC and South East Asia. From Analyst to Chief Executive innovating and championing change across the Islamic finance industry, Oz has worked in Corporate Banking and Retail Banking and is a leader in Debt Capital Markets / Sukuk bonds structuring and issuances. He was involved in many world-first deals including overseeing the ‘United Nations Sustainable Development Goals’ Sukuk arranged by HSBC Amanah. Oz is a Pioneer and industry leader in banking for Value-Based Intermediation (Value Based Banking); and a thought leader in Sustainable Business Strategy. He is also the Chair of the Malaysian Financial Services JC3 (Joint Committee on Climate Change) Sub-Committee 4 on Engagement and Capacity Building and the Treasurer of the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions, Malaysia (AIBIM). Oz is also one of the Founders & a Board Member of a UK FinTech company, MMOB, which specialises in Open Banking and Open Finance technology infrastructure.

Oz holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with distinction from London Business School executive program a Corporate Director Certificate from the Harvard Business School, and certificates for Sustainability from both Harvard Business School and London Business School. He has a Masters in Economics, Finance and Management from The University Bristol; and a Bachelors Degree in Information Management from University College London. Oz has received Islamic Finance industry acknowledgment through The Asset AAA 2018 award for Islamic Banker of the year for the industry.

Prior to his current role he was the previously he was the CEO, HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad, Head of Islamic Treasury, The Saudi British Bank and the Head of Capital Financing & Financial Institutions Dukhan bank, Qatar.

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This is the first part of a conversation with a good friend of mine Oz Ahmed (CEO, Al-Rajhi Bank, Malaysia) and his journey to becoming one of the youngest CEOs of HSBC and in Malaysia. In this episode, we go back to where it all started in East London, and we follow Oz's journey into the Islamic finance industry.

Arsalaan 'Oz' Ahmed

Oz is the current Chief Executive Officer of Al-Rajhi Bank Malaysia and is a recognised leader in Islamic finance with over 15 years in financial services, he has extensive experience in wholesale and retail banking across Europe, GCC and South East Asia. From Analyst to Chief Executive innovating and championing change across the Islamic finance industry, Oz has worked in Corporate Banking and Retail Banking and is a leader in Debt Capital Markets / Sukuk bonds structuring and issuances. He was involved many world first deals including overseeing the ‘United Nations Sustainable Development Goals’ Sukuk arranged by HSBC Amanah. Oz is a Pioneer and industry leader in banking for Value-Based Intermediation (Value Based Banking); and a thought leader in Sustainable Business Strategy. He is also the Chair of the Malaysian Financial Services JC3 (Joint Committee on Climate Change) Sub-Committee 4 on Engagement and Capacity Building and the Treasurer of the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions, Malaysia (AIBIM). Oz is also one of the Founders & a Board Member of a UK FinTech company, MMOB, which specialises in Open Banking and Open Finance technology infrastructure.

Oz holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with distinction from London Business School executive program a Corporate Director Certificate from the Harvard Business School, and certificates for Sustainability from both Harvard Business School and London Business School. He has a Masters in Economics, Finance and Management from The University Bristol; and a Bachelors Degree in Information Management from University College London. Oz has received Islamic Finance industry acknowledgement through The Asset AAA 2018 award for Islamic Banker of the year for the industry.

Prior to his current role he was the previously the this he was the CEO, HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad, Head of Islamic Treasury, The Saudi British Bank and the Head of Capital Financing & Financial Institutions Dukhan bank, Qatar.

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This is the second part of our interview with Hasan Jivraj a senior financial journalist focusing on Middle Eastern debt capital markets, Islamic finance, and international political economy. In this episode, we talk about Islamic finance in the UK and his thoughts on where the industry is headed at large.

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Arabic language podcast Arabic with Imran Lum
Book: A Comparative Study of Islamic Finance in Australia and the UK

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In this episode, we chat to Hasan Jivraj a senior financial journalist focusing on Middle Eastern debt capital markets, Islamic finance and international political economy. We chat about his journey into journalism, his studies n the Muslim world, and how he ended up writing on the Islamic finance markets. This episode is for our Arabic-speaking listeners but for those of you who don't speak Arabic, in the next episode with Hasan, we discuss the UK Islamic finance industry.

If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave us with a rating, comment and don't forget to share! If you want to learn Arabic, check out my Arabic language podcast Arabic with Imran Lum.

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In this episode, Anisa and I discuss the genesis of the Islamic banking and finance industry. We discuss some of the challenges of the profit and loss sharing structures (mushaarakah, muDaarabah etc) and share some of the criticisms of the sale-based muraabahah, commodity muraabahah and ijara muntahia bit-tamleek structures. We try to explain what these Islamic structures are in the simplest of terms.

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Check out:

Book: A Comparative Study of Islamic Finance in Australia and the UK (Routledge, UK, 2022)
Instagram: Muslim Money Podcast
Twitter: Dr Imran Lum

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