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| The news in Focus Malaysia, June 1-7 issue |
Nor Mohamed Yakcop, former Bank Negara adviser and former Minister, used to be known as Top Cat. I forgot the story behind the nickname but a cat is supposed to have nine lives and NMY has had many. In fact, after the massive forex losses that were attributed to him in the 1990s, many thought they would never see him again. But he came back and served Dr Mahathir, and served Abdullah, and then Najib Razak. He was dropped as a candidate in the the 5th May general elections, which made his many detractors so thankful to the Prime Minister. Short-lived. Last week, he came back, again, officially! This time NMY oversees Khazanah, which oversees billions and bilions of ringgit of government investment and mis-investments locally and overseas, all the GLCs and their employees, and the future well-being of this country. AsKhazanah deputy chairman, NMY will be more powerful than most ministers in Najib's Cabinet.
But with a past so rich, you'd expect some of it to haunt him. And, so, even before Top Cat could warm up his new seat, Halim Saad, a still-familiar name in the Malaysian corporate circles, has slapped the mother of all lawsuits on Khazanah and its new boss. NMY will need another life or lifeline to get through this.
p.s. Ah, they did not make him a Tun in conjunction with the Agong's birhtday today. The list of award recipients for 2013 h e r e.