PETALING JAYA: Gerak Independent co-founder Tawfik Ismail has urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to emulate Tunku Abdul Rahman and let a competent person handle the finance portfolio.
Speaking to FMT, he noted that the Tunku, Malaysia’s first prime minister, appointed HS Lee as the finance minister when the country gained independence in 1957.
He said Lee had the “capable hands” of a businessman and could understand “the realities faced by traders and manufacturers”.
On his retirement in 1959, Lee started the Development and Commercial Bank which in 1984 became Malaysia’s fifth largest bank. Two of his sons went into politics.
Tawfik, a son of second deputy prime minister Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, said Anwar should not hold the finance portfolio as he would need to spend his time integrating and governing a diverse nation.
“The economy needs a competent pair of hands, given the ever-complex and challenging global scenario,” he said.
It has been reported that Anwar had not considered keeping the finance portfolio for himself. However, he has also been quoted as saying he would look at all the possibilities before making a decision.
On Nov 26, electoral reform group Bersih took note of Anwar’s statement and said he should not be considering the position at all.
“He should not for a moment consider it as it would totally remove any semblance of check and balance in the inner sanctum of his Cabinet.
“Have we not learnt from the follies of Najib Razak?” Bersih added in a statement, referring to the 1MDB scandal, which happened when Najib was both the prime minister and finance minister.
Anwar was finance minister and deputy to the country’s longest-serving prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, before he was sacked in the wake of the 1997 financial crisis following a fallout with Mahathir. - FMT
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