As a policy maker from an emerging economy in Asia for more than three decades, it has been both exhilarating and rewarding. It has been a marathon that has been in many parts, on treacherous terrain. While it has been highly challenging, the experience has been tremendously fulfilling. It has been my privilege to be involved in managing the financial crisis 20 years ago in my country and in the post crisis period to engineer the advancement of the financial sector – to evolve a financial system that best serves the economy and in which financial stability is preserved. And more recently – to be called back again to serve the nation in Malaysia.

Three other high points in my life career have been to be part of the global agenda on the advancement of the responsible and inclusive forms of financial intermediation – that which gives focus to sustainability and that which accords importance to ethical values. This relates to advancement of responsible finance that accords attention to the impact of finance and to the longer-term orientation of the businesses and not just to the short-term gains. Equally important in these forms of finance are the values that are upheld – that are important for building the trust and confidence in the financial systems and for creating the foundations for a sustainable financial system.

The second area has been to be a part of the ASEAN and the greater Asian regional financial integration efforts. It has been my distinct privilege to have been engaged with the central banks in Asia to design our path for the regional financial integration and cooperation in Asia. The motivation and drive for this is to achieve a more efficient intermediation of funds mobilised in Asia for investment in Asia and to contribute to the relative stability and resilience of our financial systems.

And the third area is being involved in building the capability and state of readiness at the national and regional levels ...

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Keywords:Financial Stability