TEAM | muamalahconsulting

OUR TEAM

RESIDENT CONSULTANTS

Muamalah Financial Consulting

Muhammad Zahid Abdul Aziz - President/Director

Zahid, holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics from University of Exeter, United Kingdom and MSc Islamic Banking & Finance (UIAM).After graduating with the first degree in 1977, he joined an International Accounting Firm, Arthur Young & Co., London Office. He returned to Malaysia in 1982 and joined Arab Malaysian Merchant Bank Kuala Lumpur. He joined Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad in 1990 where he pioneered and helped develop Islamic Corporate Banking specializing in Islamic Syndications and Sukuk Issuance. He left Bank Islam in September 2000 to form Muamalah Financial Consulting Sdn Bhd., an Islamic Financial Consultancy/Shariah Advisory company.

From July 2006 to March 2009 he was based in Riyadh as Head of Investment Banking/Sukuk Origination for AlBilad Investment Company Ltd, a CMA licensed wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Bank AlBilad.

In April 2009 he returned to Malaysia to resume his position at Muamalah Financial Consulting, an Islamic Finance and Islamic Capital Market Consultancy/Trainer based in Kuala Lumpur.

He held an appointment as Honorary Visiting Consultant on Islamic Banking and Finance for University Science Malaysia, Penang. In 2012 he graduated with an MSc Islamic Banking & Finance from International Islamic University Malaysia. He is a well known and popular International Trainer in Islamic Banking and Finance having taught in Dubai, Brunei, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Russia , Nigeria, Kazakhstan, as well as Malaysia.

With over 25 years experience in the Islamic Muamalat Industry he has recently been appointed a Subject Matter Expert Advisor to the Syariah Advisory Committee of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB), a function which requires him to attend all BIMB Shariah Advisory Council Meetings, as well as provide advice and consultancy as necessary to Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad itself. He is also Author of a new book titled "The Foams of the Waves of the Sea – The Case for an Islamic Monetary System." He is presently active as Principal Consultant of Muamalah Financial Consulting Sdn Bhd in setting up of Islamic Banks in Africa apart from giving public Talks on The Islamic Monetray System.

Experiences :

Islamic Corporate Financing
Arrangement of major Islamic Syndications / Sukuk issuances.
Arrangement of International Islamic Syndications / International Sukuk issues.
Lecturer at Islamic Banking Courses
Invited Speaker for Central Bank, Securities Commission, Labuan Offshore Authority, courses and conferences.
Invited Speaker at International Islamic Banking Forums and Conferences
Teaches Islamic Corporate Financing, Islamic Legal documents, Islamic Stockbroking, Sukuk and Islamic Asset Backed Securitisation, Fundamental Muamalat and Islamic Financing Restructure in Public Courses organised by Muamalah Financial Consulting Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian Securities Commission approved ICM Syariah Advisory Company
Sukuk/Islamic Capital Market/Islamic Investment Banking Consultant to various Islamic Banks, Bursa Malaysia, Petronas and other institutions.

Speaker/Presenter at the following Conferences:

October 1996 - 3rd Annual Dubai Forum on Islamic Banking and Finance.

Paper : Infrastructure and Project Finance.

Pooling of Funds for Syndicate Financing of Large Scale Projects.

May 1997 - International Conference on Islamic Banking & Finance,

(Securities Commission of Malaysia)

Paper: Islamic Financing of Kuala Lumpur International Airport

November 1997 - Second Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Export

Financing Institutions (Apec EFI) Meeting, KL)

Paper: Islamic Financing for Infrastructure Projects.

December 1997 - Marketing Strategies for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions

Paper: The Challenges of Marketing Islamic

Corporate Financing Products.

April 1998 - International Conference on Islamic Investment & Challenges

(International Association of Islamic Banks)

Paper: Corporate Financing and Securitization Issues & Challenges

August 1998 - Workshop on Developing Islamic Financial Instruments for a Labuan International Islamic Money Market (ALIIMM)

(Labuan Offshore Authority)

Paper: Method of Financing and Practical Issues in Structuring Islamic Financial Instruments

June 1999 - Seminar on Islamic Banking and Finance for D8 and OIC Member Countries.

(Government of Malaysia and Central Bank of Malaysia)

Paper: Syndication and Securitization.

July 1999 - Seminar on Islamic Capital Market (Securities Commission of Malaysia

Paper: Islamic Financial Instruments and The Islamic Capital Market

Sept 2000 - Seminar on Islamic Corporate Financing (Bank Islam Institute of Research & Training)

Paper: Islamic Syndications & Islamic Bonds

October 2000 - World Class Islamic Finance Conference (Marcus Evans ICM Conferences)

Paper: Economics of Islamic Banking From A Practitioner’s View

July 2001 - New Development’s in Malaysia’s Debt Capital Market.

Paper: Islamic Private Debt Securities Issues, Challenges and Analysis on Future Direction.

Sept 2001 - Seminar on Islamic Private Debt Securities.

Paper: Issuance of Islamic PDS: Complying with SC Guidelines.

2001 onwards Various Securities Commission/Bank Negara Malaysia

In-House Seminars & Colloquiums.

2018/19 - Provide consultancy in setting up an Islamic Bank in Nigeria.

Recent Events :

IFN Roadshow in Singapore 2012 - Risks, regulatory and taxation support for Islamic Banking finance

IFN Roadshow in Jakarta 2011 - Indonesia's Regulatory and Tax Agenda (2011);

IFN Roadshow Brunei 2012 - Islamic Finance Regulatory and Infrastructure Development in Brunei.

4. Investment Banking Consultant to various Islamic Banks, Bursa Malaysia, Petronas and other institutions

Ismail Aminuddin - Associate Director

Ismail has over 32 years of experience in the banking and finance industry (including 17 years dedicated to Islamic Finance). He holds a Diploma in Public Administration from University Technology MARA (UiTM), a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Ohio University, the USA. He is a CIFP member of the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals.

Ismail was a former Accreditation Panel member of Finance Accreditation Agency Sdn Bhd (FAA) and former Syariah Committee Member of Deutsche Bank Malaysia (1 year), Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (3 years) in Kuala Lumpur, and Shariah Advisor of Qays Re Global Ltd (Labuan), a Re-Insurance/Takaful company (3 years)

Ismail is still active as the President/Director of Eversolution Sdn Bhd, a software development company and Muslim Resources Sdn Bhd, a Property Management Company.

Ismail took early retirement from banking in April 2010. Throughout his distinguished career, he held various key positions on prominent banking committees. Notably, he served as Chairman of IBFIM’s Examination Committee for the Islamic Certified Credit Professional (CCP-i) program, and as a Member of the Board of Graduate Programme Studies at INCEIF. He was also a founding and Council Member of the Association of Chartered Islamic Finance Professionals (ACIFP, now known as CIIF), a founding member and Vice-Chairman of the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions in Malaysia (AIBIM), and a member of various sub-committees set up by Bank Negara Malaysia to review Islamic banking products and procedures.

Ismail’s vast expertise spans multiple facets of the industry, including branch banking, consumer, corporate, and commercial banking, finance and accounts, credit evaluation, collection and recovery, operations, credit administration (including securities), product development, and capital markets. His final senior management role before retirement was Chief Credit Officer.

As a hands-on leader, Ismail directly supervised product development departments across all the Islamic banks he worked with. He was actively involved in designing new Islamic banking products (deposits, financing, trade finance, and treasury), drafting product operation manuals and process flows, and defining system specifications for software development (including preparing Requests for Proposal). Furthermore, he developed test plans and actively participated in user acceptance testing (UAT) for Islamic product software. Throughout his career, he has successfully worked with five banking systems: one conventional and four Islamic.

His commendable achievements in Islamic finance include spearheading the establishment of two new Islamic banks—transforming an anchor bank’s Islamic window into a full-fledged subsidiary, and launching an International Islamic Bank, as well as two Islamic banking windows for a finance company. His specialised advisory expertise includes conducting a comprehensive GAP analysis for a Labuan-based International European Bank to pave the way for setting up an Islamic banking window operation. Additionally, he was a key member of the project team that successfully established and commercialised TAJBank in Nigeria in 2019.

Ismail is a frequent speaker at local and international seminars and workshops. He has conducted training programs for institutions such as INCEIF, ISRA, various consumer associations, and several universities. His training expertise has also been sought after by the Central Bank, the Bar Council, members of the judiciary, accounting and auditing firms, and various government-linked companies (GLCs).

Outside of banking, Ismail served as a Director and Chairman of Sititrust Labuan, and as a Director of Protac Insurance Brokers (a subsidiary of RISDA). He was also a consulting Director for a pharmaceutical plant specialising in inhalation products (metered-dose inhalers), playing a pivotal role in its setup, which was completed in January 2018 and commercialised in Q4 2023. At Eversolution (and its related companies), which focuses on digital banking software and mobile banking solutions, that has successfully overseen the delivery of mobile banking applications to major banks in Malaysia.

Abdul Rais Abdul Majid - Associate Director

Abdul Rais holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) , Manila, Philippines and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science from University Sains Malaysia (USM) Penang.

From 2002 to 2004, Abdul Rais was the Chief Executive Officer of the International Islamic Fifnancial Market (IIFM), an international organised based in Bahrain, which was established as a stardard setting body to regulate and encourage the creation of global trading of Islamic capital market instruments.

Prior to this (in year 2000), Abdul Rais was with Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad as Senior Vice President/ Head of International Banking and Head of Investment Banking.

Abdul Rais joined the financial services sector more than thirty years ago upon graduation from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. He served in various capacities, mostly at international locations, at Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad.

After serving as Head of Financial Institutions Department inKuala Lumpur, he was assigned to New York as General Manager of BBMB New York branch in early1993, and subsequently as Chief Executive Officer of BBMB International Bank (L) Ltd and CEO of BBMB International Trust Limited in Labuan in 1996. He joined Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad, Malaysia’s second full-fledged Islamic bank in 2000 where he was responsible for setting up and heading the Investment Banking Division until he was selected by an international panel of central bankers to set up and head the IIFM.

Abdul Rais has presented a number of papers on Islamic capital markets and risk management at international conferences in London, Bahrain, Dubai, Doha, Jeddah Singapore, Kuala Lumpur,Jakarta, Brunei and other locations.

Wan Kamarul Zaman Wan Yaacob - Associate Director

Wan Kamarul Zaman, is an Advocate and Solicitor practicing in the legal firm of Messrs Abu Talib Shahrom based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He holds a LLB (Hons) Degree from the University of London and CLP (Malaya) as well as an M.Sc (A.Econs) and B.Sc. Degree from Louisiana State University, USA.

He has also acted as advisor for several public listed companies and private entities undertaking privatization and corporate finance exercises, namely, stock exchange listing, mergers and acquisition, divestment as well as international fund raising through debt and equities placement as well as loan syndication. He also sit on the Board of several companies both listed and unlisted, including as a Director in Muamalah Financial Consulting, Inc and a Partner of Messrs Abu Talib Shahrom, Advocates & Solicitors.

Prior to joining Messrs Abu Talib Shahrom, he was a career banker (1982 - 2006) attached to several financial institutions in Malaysia. During his tenure in the Malaysian financial sector, he has been involved in almost all aspects of banking activities viz corporate finance and advisory, corporate banking and loan syndication, origination and placement of private debt securities (both Islamic and conventional), treasury and money market dealings as well as loan recover and debt restructuring. His last position in Banking (2006) was Acting CEO of Affin Discount.

He has also acted as advisor for several public listed companies and private entities undertaking privatization and corporate finance exercises, namely, stock exchange listing, mergers and acquisition, divestment as well as international fund raising through debt and equities placement as well as loan syndication. He also sit on the Board of several companies both listed and unlisted. He is also a Director of Muamalah Financial Consulting, Inc (Labuan)

He is licensed by Securities Commission, Malaysia under the Capital Market Services Act 2007, that enable him to advise on Corporate Finance matter such as fund raising, mergers and acquisition, corporate/ debt restructuring as well as on matter relating to bonds and sukuk issuance.

He is the Chairman of a boutique corporate advisory firm, Sadec Advisers Sdn Bhd.

Latest major transaction undertaken in 2011 and 2012 under his advisory firm were as follows:-

Involved in the arrangement of three (3) Public and Private Partnership (PPP) programs between the Malaysian Government and the private sector for the development of University campuses in Malaysia totaling RM1Billion.
Advised and arranged the implementation and completion of the RM3.0Billion Sukuk Issuance for a Malaysia Government Linked Corporation (GLC).
Participated in some stage of works in relation to a business and asset sales transaction involving two (2) listed entities on Bursa Malaysia with a combined value between RM3 to 5Billion.

Mohamad Tahir - Associate Director

Tahir holds a Diploma in Banking Studies (UiTM), BSc & MBA (Management and Organization) University New Haven Connecticut, USA. He is also a Certified Risk Professional (BAI Center for Certification, USA). Tahir has over 33 years of experience in the banking and finance industry (inclusive 15 years in Islamic Banking) among others include:

Director Risk Management- Islamic Corporation for the Development Private Sector, Islamic Development Bank Group, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia;
Board Risk Management Committee - International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM), Kuala Lumpur;
Chief Risk Officer - Asian Finance Bank, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;
Chief Risk Officer - Sofinco Saudi Fransi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabic;Chief Risk Officer - Asian Finance Bank, Kuala Lumpur;
General Manager- Hong Leong Islamic Bank, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
General Manager Risk Management Group, Bank Islam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
Board of Director, BIMB Trust Limited, FT Labuan
Director Credit Management - Bank Simpanan Nasional, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Senior Vice President/ Head Risk Management - Sourthern Bank Berhad, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Vice President Head Credit Risk Managemet Division - Bank Utaman Berhad, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.

His work in Credit/Financing and Risk Management covers all aspects of Credit, Operational, Market and Sharia which include development of policy, procedures, guidelines, processes, credit rating/scoring models, credit administration & control, credit recovery, credit approval and compliance.

Abdul Rahman Ali - Associate Director

Rahman graduated from Mara University Of Technology Malaysia in Business Administration has over 37 years' experience in both conventional and Islamic banking. He started his banking career with Standard Chartered Bank (10 years) and later joined Bank Islam for 27 years until his retirement.

A hands-on person, his banking career covers managing branches and regional offices be it on human resources, deposit, remittances, banking operations, trade finance operation, credit administration, credit recovery and monitoring sales performances.

After his retirement from banking in 2011, he took up the position as General Manager of Koperasi Kakitangan Bank Islam Holdings Bhd (a co-operative society) until 2015, undertaking business of financing, retails businesses, property development for members and staff of Bank Islam.

He is also actively involved in Amal Foundation, an NGO operating on humanitarian mission worldwide. Had been to various countries assisting refugees.

Associate Consultant

Mohamad Illiayas bin Sayed Ibrahim

Mohamad Illiayas graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from National University of Singapore and was called to the Malaysian Bar on 12 March 1988 and the Singapore Bar on 13 October 1991. He subsequently obtained the Master of Laws degree from the University of Malaya and the Diploma in Syariah Law & Practice from the International Islamic University Malaysia. He is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K. and the Center for International Legal Studies, Salzburg, Austria.

He first practised law with Messrs Zain & Co. and Messrs Mohamed Ismail & Co. as a Legal Assistant. In 1994, he was made a partner of Messrs Mohamed Ismail & Co. He remained in Messrs Mohamed Ismail & Co. until 1996, when he established his firm Mohamad Illiayas & Co. (now renamed Illiayas).

Mohamad Illiayas has extensive experience in advising various clients in exercises ranging from Banking & Islamic Banking, Takaful (Islamic Insurance), Corporate, Commercial and Dispute Resolution.

Amongst his notable assignments include:

(a) handling all aspects of Banking, Takaful (Islamic Insurance), Re-takaful, Corporate and Commercial matters;

(b) specializing in Islamic Banking and Finance since 1992;

(c) preparing the pioneer sets of Islamic Banking and Finance financial documents for various financial institutions including for Bai’ Bithaman Ajil, Murabahah,

Mudharabah, Musyarakah, Ijarah and Qardhul Hasan transactions;

(d) handling Islamic bonds and Islamic equity transactions; and

(e) vetting Corporate, Commercial and Information Technology documents for clients including Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad and Syarikat Takaful Malaysia

Berhad.

He has presented papers on Islamic Banking and Finance, Company Law and Property Law since 1994 at conferences, seminars and workshops organized by Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM), Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (IKIM), Asia Business Forum, Center for Research and Training (CERT), Center for Management Technology, the Bar Council Malaysia and Monash University (Malaysia).

He was a member of the Syariah Laws Committee, Bar Council Malaysia from 1997 until 2004 and a member of the Corporate & Commercial Laws Committee, Bar Council Malaysia in 2005.He is presently a member of the Islamic Finance Committee, Bar Council Malaysia.

Prior to reading law, he worked as an Audit Assistant at Messrs Hanafiah, Raslan and Mohamad (then affiliated with Touche Ross International), Chartered and Public Accountants, Kuala Lumpur from 1979 to 1982.

Muamalah Consultants