FAIZUL ARIFF ALI, MAN OF ACTION NOT WORDS
HIS RECENT APPOINTMENT AS THE GOVERNOR OF THE RESERVE BANK OF FIJI IS THE RIGHT DECISION, GIVEN HIS MANY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE His stellar career at the Reserve Bank of Fiji was complemented by his outstanding academic performance with an average A+ grade i
The Reserve Bank of Fiji plays a crucial role in the country. Therefore it is critical that the right person heads such an important institute.
The former governor of the central bank of Malaysia said: “Central Banking is a high impact organisation. Its decisions or indecisions, its actions or inactions will have major and far reaching repercussions and consequences on the economic well-being of the public at large and the entire spectrum of businesses. The responsibility and accountability is therefore immense ......... Central banking is therefore not for the faint of heart.” The recent appointment of Faizul Ariff Ali as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji is the right decision, given his many years of experience and achievement working for the central bank.
Mr Ali is a man who prefers to speak through his actions, rather then self promoting words. He started his career there almost 26 years ago in the Economics Group and similar to his predecessor, Barry Whiteside, has worked in the financial markets and financial institutions group. He also oversaw Fiji’s Real Gross Time Settlements or the FijiClear project.
He was appointed Deputy Governor in 2014 and has acted in the position of Governor on a number of occasions.
He has represented RBF and Fiji both locally and internationally to such forums as the Annual Asian Development Bank meetings, the Annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings.
His stellar career at the Reserve Bank of Fiji was complemented by his outstanding academic performance with an average A+ grade in his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of the South Pacific. He is a graduate of the International Islamic University, Malaysia where he graduated with an Honours Degree in Economics.
He has attended numerous central banking courses and workshops all over the world including Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, USA, Thailand, and Switzerland.
While Mr Ali has declined an interview, his colleagues and friends have described him as competent and deserving of this very important position. One acquaintance describes him as a numbers man who knows his job. Others have described him as humble and down to earth. Ariff as he is fondly known is from Namosau Ba. He comes from a very humble family. His father was a fisherman and his mother was a housewife.