Hong Kong billionaire Robert Kuok to advise Mahathir during his transition
The newly elected Malaysian prime minster announces several key positions in his administration, including the first ethnic Chinese finance minister in 44 years
Hong Kong-based billionaire Robert Kuok is to sit on a special council of advisers to the Malaysian government, the country’s newly sworn in leader Mahathir Mohamad said on Saturday.
The announcement came after yet another frenetic post-election day in which new Cabinet ministers were appointed and the deposed former premier Najib Razak was barred from leaving the country.
Soon after he was prevented from leaving the country, Najib stepped down as the leader of the Barisan Nasional coalition that was defeated by Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan alliance.
In a press conference, Mahathir said Malaysian-born Kuok, 94, was among five prominent Malaysians who will be part of a Council of Eminent Persons set up to advise the government on governance matters in an interim period when the tenures of Najib-era civil servants are reviewed by the Pakatan Harapan government.
Others in the panel – described by Mahathir as a “council of elders” – are the country’s former central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, former head of the state oil firm Petronas, Hassan Marican, and prominent economist K.S. Jomo.