Malaysia is a small country but has big achievement in economic development to its credit. This year (August 2007) the country celebrates the completion of the first 50 years of its independence. It is in the fitness of things that this paper takes a look at its economic achievements over the past decades and the policies that shaped its success story in the matter. This is all the more apt as not a few regard Malaysia as a role model for the developing countries, especially the OIC members. The paper does not follow the historical sequence of events. That is available in numerous publications spread over time. It highlights the major achievements of the country and the policies that made them possible. Here it talks about the long-run vision of the social order the economic effort had to establish, the form and speed of transformation the policies ushered in, the model of growth it chose, the measures it took to enforce equity, the way it managed crises, and the Islamic elements that it was always seizes with to incorporate in its plans.

This paper raises the issue of an initial structure-objective mismatch in the launching of Islamic finance. The abolition of interest and promotion of growth with equity were goals of the conceived system. These goals expressed a long run vision to improve the condition of the Muslim communities across the world. However, the organizational form adopted for Islamic finance was of the existing commercial banks which provided essentially short-term loans on interest to trade industry and commerce. The choice thus involved an intrinsic mismatch between the structure and objectives of Islamic finance. The mismatch did carry some advantages, but on a more important side it exposed Islamic finance to commitments and influences which could not mostly align well with the goals the pioneers had in mind. Note that in focus here is not the reversal of the mismatch but its consequences that have forced the nascent Islamic system to convergence and competition with the mature conventional finance the West dominates. It is not the ground realities that are being adapted to Shari’ah norms; it is the norms that are being stretched to limit for meeting the demands of the conventional system. Ordinary Muslims who hoped to benefit from Islamic financing remain unattended. Thus, what Islamic finance can or cannot change will depend on where its ongoing integration with the conventional system leads it to. Currently, most merits claimed for the Islamic system defy evidence. The basic reforms financial systems require in the face of current crisis are the control of credit, leverage lure, and speculation. Islamic finance is in principle better equipped to achieve these ends.

Today widespread poverty is one of the major problems of mankind and its alleviation one of her major agendas. In recent years microfinance has emerged as an important instrument to relieve poverty in the developing countries. Today there are more than 7000 micro lending institutions providing loans to more than 25 million poor individuals across the world, their vast majority being the women. However these institutions face some serious challenges, especially in less developed countries where the proportion of people in poverty is high. The existing microfinance in Nigeria serves less than 1 million people out of 40 million being the potential number that need the service. Also, the aggregate micro credit facilities in Nigeria, account for about 0.2 percent of the GDP and is less than one percent of total credit in the economy. Addressing this situation inadequately would further accentuate the problem and slow down growth and development of the country. We find that the microfinance institutions charge interest rate as high as up to 100% for lending and pay as low as 5% on savings. This aggravates the existing inequalities in the distribution of wealth and income in Nigeria. Finally, Nigeria being a country with a Muslims majority, represents a potential for Islamic microfinance especially that most Muslims reject the conventional interest based micro financing, which is not tailored in line with their faith. This might cause failure of government project to combat poverty in the country through micro financing. Under the circumstance Islamic micro financing has potential to serve the country better. The paper has relied on the sources of Shari`ah law, secondary data from journals, periodicals, conference proceedings, text book , internet search and other sources of published data to support the argument.

This paper deals with familiar facts in monetary economics from an unfamiliar angle. It argues that it is not factual to regard the legal tender money and bank credit as of different genus: they work in tandem to the same ends in an economy, conventional or Islamic. Also, it does not matter what serves as money - solid gold or flimsy paper - for keeping its value stable; only the blind would argue that staff is indispensable for walking. Money is just an instrument: it was never nor can ever be classified into Islamic and non-Islamic. What it does - good or bad - depends on how we use it. Money does not generate crises; its mismanagement does. It follows that the refuge the world is searching today from recurring financial crises does not lie in money substance: history testifies that national economies could not remain turmoil-free during the centuries of the yellow metal sway over the monetary scene. The paper concludes that it is the human factor that has been the source of good or evil for mankind including money matters. And the quality of human factor true religion can alone improve: morality without faith is rudderless.

It is well to begin with the statement that there is yet no agreed definition of sustainable development. For, it is an emerging concept attempting to assimilate the dynamism of a process of change that cannot ignore local concerns, needs, and interests. Being relatively new, it evolves as we learn to grasp its wider implications for different aspects of our lives. The key question here is: what it is that we want to sustain.

The primary case of the worldwide collossal failures of financial institutions-banks in particular-in the wake of the 2007-2008 turmoil was the heightened lure of leverage gains that led them to expand credit beyond what the volume and quality of their capital assets warranted. The devastation led to a major policy shift in finance at the national and international levels, with a focus on capital adequacy that financial institutions must observed for their own safety as well as the wider social interest. It was felt that a stringent and regular watch was needed make adequacy norms work. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) developed what are known as Accords (agreements) defining capital and its adequacy for banks to limit the risks that can take within reasonable confines. Incidentally, it is worth noting that Malaysia was in a sense pre-emptive in revamping its own regulatory framework. Also, the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) was alert in announcing some new standards. This paper briefly takes stock of these developments with a view to seeing how far the Accords are needed for Islamic banks in view of the arrangements that are already in place.

Islam prohibits interest but allows profit. It promotes trade as an occupation and regards profit as a bounty from God. Mainstream economics too revolves around the notion of profit. Price theory the core of economics cannot stand firm without the assumption of profit maximization. In the practical affairs of trade, industry and commerce no concept is more pivotal than profit. Yet profit has remained one of the most neglected subjects in economic theory. After Frank H. Knight's Risk Uncertainty and profit (1921) no exhaustive work on the subject appeared save contributions in the form of book chapters or journal articles. Writings on the topic in Islamic economics have been even scarcer.