This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on May 23, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said he will step down as a member of the Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) investment panel when his tenure ends on May 31 this year.

Posting a photograph of himself standing with EPF chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, Nazir said via Instagram that he had decided not to have his EPF investment panel membership renewed.

“After [a record] 15 years as [an] EPF panel member, I have decided not to be considered for renewal at the end of my tenure this month. It’s been such a huge honour and privilege to serve since 2002 and witness the EPF’s assets grow from RM200 billion to over RM750 billion today, pay consistently good dividends, and diversify from pure Malaysian investments to almost 30% in the rest of the world.

“The EPF is a world-class pension fund and great Malaysian success story. So long at it continues to be led with integrity by a strong leadership team and follows its established institutional processes, the EPF will continue to grow from strength to strength. My gratitude to everyone who served on the panel with me and all the EPF staff who had to put up with my questions!” Nazir said.

AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes left a comment on Nazir’s Instagram post, saying: “Good leadership is to know when to move on. Onto bigger and better things and hope the foundation you helped to build will maintain and grow.”

“EPF has been a model institution. Take a bow for all the work you have done in being part of a great organisation,” Fernandes added.