ASAS Certification

With the mandate given by Bank Negara Malaysia to develop Shariah Certification Programmes to upskill Shariah advisors and officers serving the Islamic financial services industry, ASAS has developed two certification programmes, namely Certified Shariah Advisor (CSA) and Certified Shariah Practitioner (CSP). These two programmes offer common and specific modules to both the Shariah and non-Shariah background practitioners.  The CSA and CSP certifications will be awarded upon successful completion of all required modules.

The CSA and CSP will benefit the Shariah officers and other officers attached to the Islamic Financial Institutions in an almost similar way that they benefit the Shariah Committee members as the programmes cater for personnels of Shariah and non-Shariah backgrounds. Given the rigorous processes adopted by ASAS in the development of the CSA and CSP to ensure the relevancy of knowledge and skills embedded in the programmes, ASAS is certain that those programmes have unique features that will enhance the Shariah Advisors’ competencies in Malaysia as well as in the international market. The CSA and CSP initiatives are indeed one of the key components for ASAS to transform itself into a respectable professional body in the future.

CSA and CSP were launched during the Shariah Fintech Forum on 8 of November 2017 as an initiative by ASAS to further elevate professionalism among the Shariah advisors. Following the launching, the initiative received overwhelming responses and positive feedbacks from the industry. Another notable achievement is when CSA and CSP were being addressed by the Governor in the Shariah Advisory Council (SAC) 20 Year Anniversary Dinner on the 12 of December 2017. The Certifications also received great publicity in the mainstream media like The New Straits Times, Berita Harian, The Malaysian Reserve and The Star Online.

In 2018, Bank Negara Malaysia initiated an industry-wide commitment to professionalise the Islamic Financial Services Industry through Shariah Certifications. The initiative was to ensure Islamic financial institutions, Takaful operators, together with ASAS were fully committed to raise the professional standards in the Islamic financial services industry in Malaysia. The CSA and CSP certification programmes facilitate the creation of workforce that ascribes to high standards of professional conduct, in the Islamic banking and finance as well as Takaful industry.