Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has appointed Bank Negara Malaysia’s Deputy Governor Muhammad Ibrahim, 56, as the agency’s new governor, reported Channel News Asia.
He will replace the outgoing Governor Zeti Aktar Aziz who will officially resign on Saturday (30 April) after leading the central bank for 16 years.
“I am confident that under Muhammad’s leadership, Bank Negara Malaysia can continue its service in helping the government, providing advice and views for catalysing the country’s economic growth, as well as administer monetary policy and overseeing the country’s financial industry,” said Najib.
Although the Malaysian ringgit strengthened shortly after the new head of the central bank revealed, the incoming governor faces challenging tasks ahead, amidst the softer local economy due to the rout in oil and commodity prices, as well as the 1MDB scandal that has rattled international investors.
In 2015, the country’s economy expanded by only 5 percent, down from the 6 percent gain seen during the preceding year. For the whole of 2016, the GDP is forecasted to post a softer growth of 4 to 4.5 percent.
Nevertheless, experts believe that Muhammad is the right man for the job due to his expertise and lengthy experience.
“He’s been in the central bank for a very long time so he’s familiar with how it works. I think the choice of Muhammad is a market-friendly choice that opts to maintain the status quo,” said Krystal Tan, an economist for Asia at Capital Economics.
During his 32-year stint with the central bank, Muhammad held the important role during 1997 Asian financial crisis as the Managing Director of Danamodal Nasional Berhad, a recapitalization agency for financial institutions.
Aside from being an independent director on the board of Petronas, the new governor is also a member of Bank Negara’s Monetary Policy Committee.
Muhammad graduated from the University of Malaya and is a chartered accountant. He has a master’s degree from Harvard University, as well as a postgraduate diploma in Islamic banking and finance from the International Islamic University Malaysia.
Image: Sourced from Free Malaysia Today
Mangalesri Chandrasekaran, Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email mangales@propertyguru.com.my
