Wahid reveals reason for leaving ministerial post

Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) chairperson Abdul Wahid Omar today revealed the reasons for his quick exit after serving only a three-year term in the cabinet.

The former minister in the prime minister's department said this is because he did not want to become "too comfortable" as a politician, so he could return to the corporate sector.

"It was part of the original request and understanding for me to serve only one term. I still remember that conversation with the prime minister, when he first invited me to his office to speak about this appointment.

"I made this specific request that I only wanted to sit one term, because I would like to go back to the corporate sector," he said at a talk in Kuala Lumpur today.

Wahid was the CEO of Maybank until he was appointed to join Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's cabinet on May 15, 2013.

He headed various agencies such as the Economic Planning Unit, the Public-Private Partnership Unit (Ukas), TalentCorp, and others. This was until June 4 last year when his term as senator expired.

He was appointed as PNB's chairperson on Aug 1 that year.

When Wahid was not reappointed as a minister, it was speculated that he had left the cabinet because of the 1MDB scandal.

Among them was Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar, who questioned whether Wahid was trying to run away from the scandal.

Meanwhile, Wahid told reporters at today's talk that his family was also a key factor in his decision not to continue his term in office.

"My wife, especially, doesn't want me to be a politician as the moment I become so, we will lose our private space in life.

"There is also the danger of still being in the government when it comes to the general election, especially the 14th general election. There is always a risk that you might be asked to run for election - a risk that you wouldn't want to take," he joked.

Wahid said he also believes that he can perform better in the corporate sector, rather than in politics.

"All of us have our respective roles in developing the country.

"As a minister, I was able to do certain things, but I felt I could do more in the corporate sector," he said.

To a question on what is the one thing that he would miss the most in the government sector, he said that it is the people that he met and the sense of camaraderie in the cabinet.

"I miss the people in the cabinet. I appreciate many friends I made in the public sector and civil service. I also miss the weekly cabinet meeting," he said. - Mkini