KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 2): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that he was neither the only prime minister, nor the first, to hold the minister of finance position concurrently, adding that current PM Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also holds both posts.
Najib, who took the stand in his defence at the resumption of the RM2.7 billion 1Malaysia Development Bhd-Tanore (1MDB-Tanore) trial, was asked by his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah about holding dual positions.
Shafee: Are you the only, or the first, prime minister who simultaneously held the position of the minister of finance?
Najib: No, I am neither the only nor the first prime minister of Malaysia to simultaneously hold the position of the minister of finance.
Najib, who was reading his answers from his 525-page sworn witness statement before Court of Appeal judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, said that Malaysia had a “long history” of PMs holding the minister of finance position, stretching back to the time of the first PM, Tunku Abdul Rahman.
“Tunku (Abdul Rahman) held both roles during two periods of his leadership, from 1957 to 1959, and later from 1960 to 1962,” Najib said.
Najib added that his late father, Tun Abdul Razak, who was the nation’s second PM, had also done the same.
“Following him, my late father, Tun Abdul Razak, also held the positions of the PM and minister of finance simultaneously during his tenure from 1970 to 1976,” Najib said in a strong clear voice, adding, “albeit for a short stint — I don’t think it was the full 1970 to 1976, it was for a brief period.”
He then added that this practice was later continued by other PMs, including Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who briefly assumed the finance portfolio in the 1990s, and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who held both roles during his administration.
Najib also cited Anwar as holding the dual positions in the current day.
“By the way, the practice continues until today. The current prime minister also holds the position of the prime minister and minister of finance,” Najib said on the witness stand.
He explained that dual role allows the PM to oversee and coordinate economic and fiscal policies directly, ensuring alignment with the government’s overall vision and priorities.
“My decision to hold both positions was consistent with this established practice, aimed at steering Malaysia through critical economic challenges and implementing transformative policies for the nation’s development,” he said.
Najib had become the sixth PM of Malaysia on April 3, 2009, and in the same year became the Umno president. Najib was the PM until May 2018.
He said he had been the finance minister from 2008 until May 2018.
The trial continues.
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