Positioning: NEM, Islam in the real world

NEM

1. Economists have a disproportionate sense of self-importance when they dish out policy opinon based on simplified quantitative tools, based on historical data, often followed with a diametrically opposite opinion from a fellow economist using a different set of tools. Sorry- I don't buy into opinions of those with the loudest voices- rationality demands that we test the impact of various decision pathways and evaluate using our understanding of risks and opportunities of the foresseable future. Ie a scenario analysis.

2. NEM is a remarkable document for its fresh and candid views of Msia's economic problems and challenges, distinct from other official views edited for 'spin'.

3. Its policy prescriptions are just generalisations tho, and even then we still have bickering as to degrees of various shades of reasons and rationale of various prescriptions. These are distractions we don’t need when we don’t have any execution capability to exhaust all policy options. Execution needs to be prioritised when a level of comfort with solution is identified. But the important thing is to allow a mechanism for continued reflection and improvement to take place.

4. Hence, it is incumbent for organisations to institutionalise a system for perpetuating a system for improvement. This is captured in quality systems such as ISO9000, tho its importance should be emphasised much more than merely following the spirit of the letter. Policy review is just as important as policy development and policy execution. And within this space, we can allow for the economists to have their day in the limelight for whatever they wish to say.

Islam and the current state of being

5. People with leading edge Islamic thoughts to watch out for:

Society: Tariq Ramadhan – a message for understanding between two diverse cultures based on their own philosophical foundations. It’s a tough job, and personal costs are high in that he has been criticised from both sides, but he’s an acknowledged leader in this field, and should be supported as much as possible. Interesting that he’s been publicly quoted as disowning post-1949 IM, although the reason for his US travel ban was his donation to the precursor to Hamas in 1998.

Finance & Capitalism: Mohamaed Al-Erian- PIMCO boss, reputedly with links to IM, has business book of the year while taking his year out managing Harvard’s endowment funds. I like the philosophy behind PIMCO’s foundation. I’m a bit edgy about PIMCO’s involvement with conventional finance though.

Politics: Abd Wahab Al-Effendi: Sudanese ulama’ debunking the objectives of the khilafah. His book is a source of great debate and will likely shape the intellectual philosophy for Islamic moral leadership, rather than regulatory and political leadership.

This should be enough for now and adequate resource for debate and dialogue.