Third Malaysian central bank executive leaves

Third Malaysian central bank executive leaves

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A third senior executive is to leave
Malaysia's central bank and a fourth is under pressure to follow
after the resignations of the bank's governor Ahmad Mohamad Don
and his deputy, officials said Saturday.

Bank Negara Malaysia advisor Wan Norhiyati Wan Ibrahim denied
she was resigning but said she would nevertheless be leaving when
her contract expires on Monday, a public holiday in Malaysia.

Wan Norhiyati, who was seconded to the central bank from
Malayan Banking Bhd. (Maybank) in 1994, said she was already
scheduled to leave Bank Negara to return to Maybank, the
country's largest commercial bank.

"It's pure coincidence that my date of expiry is August 31,"
she told AFP.

Ahmad Don, the outgoing governor, meanwhile spent Saturday
morning saying goodbye after almost four-and-a-half years at the
bank's helm, culminating in differences over monetary policy with
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

As he left the central bank for the last time following the
standard half-day of banking business in Malaysia, dozens of
staff members lined up outside the rear entrance of the Bank
Negara building before he was whisked away in a gold BMW to the
final salute of a lone security guard.

"The mood is gloomy. It was a political decision," a central
bank official said, referring to the twin resignations of Ahmad
Don and deputy governor Fong Weng Phak announced Friday.

"The feeling is now either you toe the line or leave," he
added.

He said the focus of attention was now moving to associate
governor Abdul Murad Khalid, who has been overtaken by Zeti
Akhtar Aziz following her appointment as acting governor from
next Tuesday.

While both were among the bank's four associate governors,
Murad was more senior than Zeti.

"It's an embarrassment. He has been sidelined," the official
said, noting that both Murad and the outgoing governor were
widely seen as allies of Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar himself has been sidelined by the June appointment of
former finance minister Daim Zainuddin as "special functions"
minister. A close ally of Mahathir, he has since successfully
pushed for successive easings of monetary policy, putting him at
odds with the central bank and Anwar.

"Murad is the most senior and he's close to Anwar," the
central bank official said. "The possibility of Murad leaving is
there. Murad will now keep quiet or leave."

A source close to the cabinet said Murad's name had been
circulating as the next in line to resign from the Malaysian
central bank.

"Murad's name has been mentioned," he said.

Speculation over Murad's fate surfaced on Thursday when Zeti
took charge of a press briefing accompanying the release of
quarterly economic data showing a 6.8 percent decline in gross
domestic product (GDP) in the three months to June. The briefings
are usually chaired by Murad.

Zeti herself was expected to make a statement Saturday,
Malaysian newspapers reported.

The central bank official described the 51-year-old Zeti as
"neutral and hard working" but noted that her appointment was
probably temporary.

Hassan Merican, president of state-owned oil company Petroliam
Nasional Bhd., was among names being circulated as a possible
successor to Ahmad Don. "He's a firm person and has a head of his
own," the official said.

Other possible contenders include Ahmad Tajuddin Ali, chairman
of power company Tenaga Nasional Bhd., and Raja Arshad Tun Uda, a
managing partner with international accounting firm Price
Waterhouse, sources said.