PUTRAJAYA (Jun 22): The fact that the Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced the appointment of Bank Negara Malaysia Governor does not means that the central bank will come under the purview of the Treasury, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng at a press conference this afternoon.

MoF’s role was merely to announce the appointment, he added.

“MoF is just making the announcement, that’s all; the announcement can be made via press statement, we are just here to let everyone meet the new Bank Negara Governor through a press conference.

“According to the role as set out in the legislation, this is a government that operates under [the] rule of law; we respect Bank Negara’s present role as outlined under the present laws,” he said.

“This is a follow up after several media reported on the candidate of Bank Negara recently; it seems like there are some information leakages,” he quipped.

The independence of Bank Negara has come under scrutiny recently after the central bank purchased a plot of 67.41-acre land here for RM2.07 billion from the MoF. The proceeds were then used by the government to pay off debts under 1Malaysia Development Bhd during Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s tenure as Prime Minister cum Finance Minister.

During the press conference, Lim announced that His Majesty Yang di-Pertuan Agong had on June 19 agreed to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recommendation to appoint Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus as Bank Negara’s new governor.

Lim also said his Ministry had been instructed to make the announcement, adding that the recommendation was made on June 18, and royal consent was obtained a day later on June 19.

Nor Shamsiah’s appointment will be effective July 1 this year, for a term of five years until June 30, 2023.

Nor Shamsiah was the Deputy Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia from 2010 until 2016. She recently served as Assistant Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Division of the International Monetary Fund. 

“As Deputy Governor, Datuk Nor Shamsiah was responsible for banking, insurance and Takaful supervision, financial intelligence and enforcement, talent management, finance and shared services of the central bank,” Lim said.

Nor Shamsiah joined Bank Negara Malaysia in 1987 and has served in various areas, including prudential regulations, legislation, policies and guidelines for the financial sector and supervision. 

She was involved in the financial sector resolution initiatives during the Asian financial crisis. She played a key role in the formulation and implementation of the Financial Sector Masterplan (2001-2010) and Financial Sector Blueprint (2011-2020) that charts the development of the Malaysian financial system.

Nor Shamsiah graduated from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accountancy and is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA).

Nor Shamsiah was invited to say a few words at the press conference, where she promised Bank Negara will continue to focus on delivering its mandate of maintaining monetary and financial stability in the best interest of the nation.

Asked about her priority in governing the central bank, Nor Shamsiah said it is too early for her to elaborate at this juncture and that she would provide further updates, after she assumes office in July.

“Bank Negara will continue to focus on delivering its mandate of maintaining monetary and financial stability in the best interest of the nation. I have been away for nearly three years; it is too early for me to say the priority. I would need to go back and start my responsibility in July, and discuss with the staff, the current situation and what would be the priority, moving forward,” Nor Shamsiah said.