PUTRAJAYA (June 22): Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus has promised to maintain the country's monetary and financial stability upon assuming office as Bank Negara Malaysia Governor on July 1 this year.

At Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng's press conference to announce her appointment today, Nor Shamsiah said that in serving her five-year tenure as governor until June 30, 2023, she and her team will continue to focus on delivering on the central bank's mandate of maintaining monetary and financial stability in the best interest of the nation.

Asked about her priority in governing the central bank, Nor Shamsiah said it is too early for her to elaborate at this juncture and that she would provide further updates after she assumes office in July.

"Bank Negara will continue to focus on delivering its mandate of maintaining monetary and financial stability in the best interest of the nation. I have been away for nearly three years, it is too early for me to say the priority, I would need to go back and start my responsibility in July, and discuss with the staff the current situation and what would be the priority moving forward," she said.

The Ministry of Finance today confirmed that His Majesty Yang di-Pertuan Agong had on Tuesday, June 19, agreed to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's recommendation to appoint Nor Shamsiah to the position.

Nor Shamsiah joined Bank Negara in 1987 and served in various areas including prudential regulations, legislation, policies and guidelines for the financial sector and supervision.

She was a Deputy Governor of Bank Negara from 2010 until 2016, she recently served as Assistant Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Division of the International Monetary Fund.

During her tenure as Deputy Governor, Nor Shamsiah was responsible for banking, insurance and Takaful supervision, financial intelligence and enforcement, talent management, finance and shared services of the central bank.

She was involved in the financial sector resolution initiatives during the Asian financial crisis. She played a key role in the formulation and implementation of the Financial Sector Masterplan (2001-2010) and Financial Sector Blueprint (2011-2020) that charts the development of the Malaysian financial system.

While at the central bank, she was also part of the team looking into beleaguered state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd or 1MDB.

Born in 1964, Nor Shamsiah graduated from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accountancy and is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA).

Nor Shamsiah had been tipped as a front runner for the top position following the resignation of her predecessor Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim on June 6.