Islamic Financial Services Act (IFSA) 2013 and the Sharīʿah-Compliance Requirement of the Islamic Finance Industry in Malaysia

This paper aims to observe the development of the Sharīʿah governance framework (SGF) and practice in Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) in Malaysia. It is found that the Central Bank of Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia, has attempted to develop a comprehensive framework of Sharīʿah governance for IFIs in Malaysia. The framework governs the practice of
the industry, covers stakeholders’ scope of duties and responsibilities and provides details on processes and
procedures in the operations of IFIs to achieve the objective of Sharīʿah compliance. To maintain the relevance of
the SGF to the needs of the industry, the framework has also been updated recently in 2017. The amendments
aim to strengthen the effectiveness of Sharīʿah governance implementation within the Islamic finance industry.