Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim stressed today that the old culture of hoarding wealth and shares by political elites must be stopped. Policies must be based on the rights and interests of the majority of the people.
He said this soon after he resumed his duties as Finance Minister, officially this morning (Dec 6).
After 24 years, Anwar arrived at the ministry at 7.57am and clocked in as a sign of starting work at the ministry.
His arrival was greeted by the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia Executive Chairman Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin and the relevant ministry staff.
On Nov 25, Anwar, who is also the Chairman of Pakatan Harapan (PH), officially began his duties as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia.
During the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, Anwar supported free market principles and highlighted issues related to business and political relations in Malaysia.
The Prime Minister was also the Development Committee chairman of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in 1998 for two years and strongly supported debt cancellation initiatives for poor countries, especially countries on the African continent.
Several advisors will reportedly assist in the affairs of the Ministry of Finance led by Petronas Advisor, Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican.
Before this, Anwar, 75, had held the portfolio as Finance Minister for eight years, from 1991 to 1998 under the administration of then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
