‘PETRONAS, KHAZANAH NOT UNDER MY MINISTRY’

DATUK Seri Azmin Ali denies reports that the two government-linked companies will come under him. The economic affairs minister says the two are under the PM’s Department. AHMAD NIZAM IS NEW PETRONAS CHAIRMAN WAN ZUL CONTINUES AS PRESIDENT, GROUP CEO

NATIONAL sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd and national petroleum company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) will be placed under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD).

Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said reports speculating that the two organisations would be placed under his ministry following his appointment as one of the new board members in Khazanah was not true.

He said it was up to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to decide where the two companies would be placed under.

“It is the prerogative of the prime minister. I am only a board member in Khazanah,” he said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

It has been speculated that Khazanah, Petronas, Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) and several companies under Minister of Finance Inc (MoF Inc) would be placed under PMD instead of Azmin’s ministry.

There was also deliberation to dissolve MoF Inc, which has more than 150 companies, including 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Such speculations led many to believe that Azmin would be put in charge of the nation’s biggest companies, such as Petronas, Khazanah and PNB, collectively worth more than RM1 trillion.

The government on Monday announced new board members of Khazanah, which is chaired by Dr Mahathir.

Apart from Azmin, the other board members are former Petronas chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, Bank Negara Malaysia former deputy governor Dr Sukhdave Singh, and former Securities Commission executive director Goh Ching Yin.

He said the government was drafting the new economic policy for the coming mid-term review.

“The ministry will play an important role in charting the new direction of the nation’s economic policies.”

On the suggestion by former minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong to include Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng as a director in Khazanah, Azmin said the suggestion was merely provocation.

He said the government would decide on the appointment of the new managing director soon.

On the criteria and background of the new managing director, Azmin said candidates must have integrity, apart from vast knowledge and experience in the corporate sector.

He also brushed aside views by certain quarters naming him as the second most powerful man in Malaysia.

“It is a huge responsibility that one has to shoulder together with other members in cabinet. It is not about one person… it is a collective effort,” he said.

On rumours that MoF Inc directors were quitting, Azmin said he was not privy to such report.

He said his trip to Singapore to discuss the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High-Speed Rail project, initially scheduled for July 31, has been postponed to early this month due to Parliament sitting and the Sungai Kandis state byelection.

He addressed allegations of money transferred to his personal account.

“If there is evidence, please forward it to the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission.

“My conscience is clear and I am here to serve the people,” he said.