IPOH: PERAK Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir has been recognised as one of the exemplary leaders in the world’s Islamic finance sector when he was named the Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) 2014 recipient.
He received the award during a special gala dinner at The H Hotel in Dubai on Monday night. About 300 global leaders, highly influential people and key players in the Islamic financial industry, including award recipients from 12 countries, attended the gala dinner.
Zambry was chosen based on his contribution to the socio-economic model in assisting the poor and eradicating poverty in the state through Yayasan Bina Upaya Darul Ridzuan (YBU).
The GIFA award selection committee, headed by chairman and chief executive officer of Edbiz Consulting Prof Humayon Dar, chose Zambry and the YBU model, based on a presentation by him in the Global Economic Symposium held in Kuala Lumpur last month.
The award gives recognition for the commitment by the state, under Zambry, in carrying out its Islamic social responsibility.
YBU, the brainchild of Zambry, was registered in 2009 as the government’s arm in tackling poverty issues in the state. Besides reducing poverty, YBU aims to empower the target group, which includes the poor, the handicapped and single mothers.
Through its programmes like micro-credit scheme, repairing and building new houses, food assistance and special housing scheme dubbed Rumah Ihsan Aman Jaya, where interest-free housing loans are provided for qualified applicants, YBU has succeeded in reducing poverty from 0.5 per cent to 0.2 per cent since 2012.
GIFA is one of the most prestigious awards in the Islamic financial service industry and the award is presented to individuals and organisations for their achievement and best practice in Islamic finance sector.
The annual GIFA awards began in 2011 in Oman, coinciding with the Oman Islamic Economic Forum, the first international conference in Islamic finance in the sultanate.
The first GIFA award was presented to former Malaysia prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi under the Global Leadership in Islamic Finance Award in 2011.
GIFA, which was held in Kuala Lumpur the following year, saw the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah (then the crown prince of Perak), receiving the award while last year’s award presentation, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, saw Pakistan’s former prime minister Shaukat Aziz as the top recipient.