Nazir Razak, the CIMB Group CEO is one of the most sucessful banker in Malaysia. He is well regarded not only here but also outside of Malaysia. He is also the younger brother of the current DPM, Najib Razak.
Nazir says that the current tumultous global environment presents one of the most challenging times for one to become finance minister.
Being thrown to the deep end is certainly a challenge especially when your political survival also depends on it. Najib has some big shoes to fill. Not Abdullah Badawi’s but former Finance Ministers, Daim Zainuddin and Tun Dr. Mahathir. I hesitate to say whether Anwar Ibrahim belong to that group. We all know what happened in 1998 and how he reacted to it. Supporters for Anwar may disagree but we probably should leave that for another day.
As for now, Najib has a lot on his plate. It is good for him that he has his brother that he can seek advice from. The downside to that is that anything else may be seen negatively. Croynism, advantages to his brother. This may be some of the things that we may hear. But in times such as this, Najib needs to have a strong team that will be able to give him sound economic advise and at the same time, be sensitive to the needs of the common people.
Tun Mahathir recently blogged about the current financial turmoil.
Good luck.
