KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 28): Malaysia’s central bank has reappointed Datuk Yogeesvaran Kumaraguru as an external member of its monetary policy committee.

The appointment of Yogeesvaran, a retired career civil servant and economist, is for a three-year term, effective Sept 1, Bank Negara Malaysia said in a statement on Friday. Yogeesvaran has been a member of the committee since 2024.

Trained as an economist and a lawyer, Yogeesvaran is currently a partner at a legal firm and a non-resident fellow at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research partially funded by the government.

Yogeesvaran spent nearly three decades at the Economic Planning Unit before being promoted to the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities as its secretary general until his retirement in May 2018.

BNM has been appointing members outside of the central bank to the committee responsible for setting the benchmark overnight policy rate for a more diverse viewpoints, specialised knowledge, and additional insights to complement the expertise of the internal members.

Other outside members of the monetary policy committee are Nor Zahidi Alias, formerly the chief economist of Malaysian Rating Corporation, and Lim Chee Sing who headed RHB Research Institute between 2013 and 2017.