Faridah Noor Mohd Noor
Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya
Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz is a prominent figure on the Malaysian financial scene. On 1 May 2000, she was appointed as the first woman Governor of the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Malaysia’s Central Bank. During her 15 years in office, she was showered with accolades of national and international awards. Her path towards the prominent position as the Governor was laid with the bricks of experience holding several positions in the world of finance and economics. The nation was significantly advanced by her leadership as the Chief Economist to the Central Bank. During the 1997 currency crisis, governments were forced to seek emergency bailouts. However, despite criticism from the IMF, Malaysia went ahead to peg the currency and impose capital controls on foreign investors. This followed with transformation of Malaysia’s financial sector and development of Malaysia’s bond market. Today, Malaysia has one of the largest bond markets in Southeast Asia. Upon Tun Mahathir Mohammed’s return to the helm as the Prime Minister of Malaysia, she has been entrusted with appointment as a member of the Council of Elders. The Council is a special advisory panel tasked to advise the newly-elected Pakatan Harapan coalition government on economic and financial matters during the transition of power after the landslide 2018 general elections. Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar is indeed a woman of substance who implemented policies to save the nation during the financial crisis based on her wise judgement and professional experience.
(Presented in the international conference – Prominent Women in the ASEAN Community, 13 July 2018, Le Meridien Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Institute of Thai Studies and Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University)