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SPEECH BY TUN MUSA HITAM,

CHAIRMAN, WORLD ISLAMIC ECONOMIC FORUM FOUNDATION

AT THE OPENING SESSION OF THE 11TH WORLD ISLAMIC ECONOMIC FORUM

ON “BUILDING RESILIENCE FOR EQUITABLE GROWTH”

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA | 3 NOVEMBER 2015

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FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS OR SO, YEAR IN YEAR OUT, I

HAVE BEEN PRIVILEGED TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK AT EACH

OPENING CEREMONY OF THE WIEF. ON ALL THESE

OCCASIONS, I MUST BE THE LUCKIEST MAN TO SPEAK

IN FRONT OF DISTINGUISHED WORLD LEADERS AND

BUSINESS LEADERS FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE

WORLD. THE BUSINESS LEADERS REPRESENT

DIFFERENT LEVELS AND VARIETIES OF BUSINESSES AS

WELL AS COMING FROM BOTH THE DEVELOPED AND

DEVELOPING WORLDS.

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TODAY, AGAIN, I AM PRIVILEGED TO WELCOME YOU

ALL HERE IN KUALA LUMPUR, AT THIS 11TH WORLD

ISLAMIC FORUM. I AM PARTICULARLY PLEASED AND

THANKFUL TO HIS EXCELLENCIES THE CHAIRMAN OF

THE PRESIDENCY OF BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, THE

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF AZERBAIJAN, OUR VERY

DEAR FRIEND THE PRESIDENT OF THE ISLAMIC

DEVELOPMENT BANK. ALSO, THANKS ARE DUE TO THE

SPECIAL ENVOY OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF

CAMBODIA, AND DISTINGUISHED REPRESENTATIVES

OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENTS OF KENYA, RWANDA,

GABON, GHANA AND MOZAMBIQUE. WE ARE INDEED

GRATEFUL TO YOU, YOUR EXCELLENCIES FOR YOUR

PRESENCE.

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I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO CONVEY OUR SPECIAL THANKS

TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRIME MINISTER OF

MALAYSIA FOR GRACING THIS OCCASION AND THE

GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA FOR ITS CONTINUOUS

SUPPORT ACCORDED TO THE WIEF. MY APPRECIATION

WOULD NOT BE COMPLETE WITHOUT RECOGNISING

THE PRESENCE AMONG US TODAY OF THE DEPUTY

PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA AS WELL AS THE VERY

PERSON WHO MADE THESE ALL HAPPEN, THE FORMER

PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA, TUN ABDULLAH

AHMAD BADAWI.

EXCELENCIES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

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WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY IN CHALLENGING

TIMES. I KNOW THAT USING THE TERM "CHALLENGING

TIMES" MAY SOUND LIKE A BORING CLICHE. SO, I

WOULD ADD ANOTHER WORD, BY SAYING THAT WE

ARE LIVING IN CHALLENGING AND "TRYING" TIMES. I

SAY THIS BECAUSE HUMANITY IS BEING CHALLENGED

AND ON TRIAL AS NEVER BEFORE IN OUR QUEST FOR

BETTER LIVES. INDEED, LOOKING AT ALL CORNERS OF

THIS VERY SMALL WORLD OF OURS, THE QUEST FOR

BETTER LIVELIHOOD IS VERY FAST TURNING INTO THE

QUEST FOR SURVIVAL.

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THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS COULD BE DEBATED AND

DISCUSSED AND ANALYSED AD INFINITUM ... THE

REFUGEE CRISIS FACING THE WEST AS WELL AS SOUTH

AND SOUTH EAST ASIA, THE ENERGY CRISIS THAT IS

REVERBERATING DOWNWARDS NEGATIVELY TO THE

CORE OF THE RESPECTIVE SOCIETIES, FALLING

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND EXCHANGE RATES,

SECTARIAN CONFLICTS AND NATURAL DISASTERS ...

NOT TO MENTION ISSUES RELATING TO CORPORATE

GOVERNANCE AND MATTERS RELATED … THESE ISSUES

BOGGLE OUR MINDS AND PUT THE HUMAN MIND ON

TRIAL AS TO HOW TO FACE AND FIND SOLUTIONS.

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BE THAT AS IT MAY, AS FAR AS THE WIEF IS

CONCERNED, THE FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES THAT WE

SHOULD CONCERN OURSELVES RELATE TO THE

ECONOMY AND HOW WE CONDUCT OURSELVES IN

DEALING WITH IT ... HOW GOVERNMENTS CONDUCT

IT, HOW CORPORATIONS CONDUCT IT, HOW SMALL

AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES CONDUCT IT, HOW

INSTITUTIONS AND EVEN HOW INDIVIDUALS CONDUCT

THE ECONOMY IN BUSINESSES. LET US, THEN, APPLY

OUR MINDS DURING THE COURSE OF THESE FEW

DAYS.

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THE WIEF WOULD HAVE TO CONTINUE TO STRIVE

TOWARDS BEING RELEVANT. WE WILL CONTINUE TO

FOCUS ON THE ECONOMY AND BUSINESS RELATED

ISSUES, WITHOUT DISTRACTION, BE IT POLITICAL OR

RELIGIOUS. THESE, IN TURN, NEED TO BE BASED ON

POSITIVE PRIORITIES BASED ON WIN-WIN

COLLABORATION.

IN THIS PARTICULAR 11TH EDITION OF THE WIEF,

WHILE TOUCHING ON BUSINESS MATTERS OF

CONTINUING INTEREST, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT WE

GIVE SPECIAL ATTENTION TO SMALL & MEDIUM

ENTERPRISES. WE DON'T NEED TO REMIND OURSELVES

THAT IN MOST COUNTRIES SMES MAKE UP MORE

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THAN 90% OF THE ECONOMY. IN THIS REGARD, I AM

HAPPY THAT THE SPECIAL SME BUSINESS PAVILION

THAT IS SET UP HAS DRAWN INTEREST BY QUITE A FEW

COUNTRIES.

FINALLY, YOUR EXCELLENCIES LADIES AND

GENTLEMEN, MAY I THANK ALL THE ROLE PLAYERS

AND MEMBERS OF THE WIEF INTERNATIONAL

ADVISORY PANEL, BOTH GROUPS COMING FROM NEAR

AND FAR, FOR THEIR INVALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS.

SPECIAL MENTION IS DUE FOR THE YOUNG AND

WOMEN ACTIVISTS WHO MAKE THE WIEF THE

SUCCESS THAT IT IS.

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LAST BUT NOT LEAST, MY PERSONAL HEARTFELT

THANKS GO TO THE SECRETARIAT HEADED BY THE

SECRETARY GENERAL AND THE MANAGING DIRECTOR

FOR THEIR PATIENCE, HARD WORK AND DEDICATION

IN ORGANISING THIS 11TH WIEF.

THANK YOU, AND MAY ALLAH BLESS US ALL.

KUALA LUMPUR TUN MUSA HITAM

3 NOVEMBER 2015 CHAIRMAN, WIEF FOUNDATION