Nor Mohamed Yakcop

Malaysian politician

نور محمد يعقوب‎Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Economic Planning UnitIn office
10 April 2009 – 5 May 2013MonarchsMizan Zainal Abidin
Abdul HalimPrime MinisterNajib RazakDeputyAhmad MaslanPreceded byAmirsham Abdul AzizSucceeded byAbdul Wahid OmarMinister of Finance IIIn office
27 March 2004 – 9 April 2009
Serving with Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2004–2008), Najib Razak (2008–2009)
MonarchsSirajuddin
Mizan Zainal AbidinPrime MinisterAbdullah Ahmad BadawiDeputyNg Yen Yen (2004–2008)
Tengku Putera Tengku Awang (2004–2006)
Awang Adek Hussin (2006–2008)
Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah (2008–2009)
Kong Cho Ha (2008–2009)Preceded byJamaluddin JarjisSucceeded byAhmad Husni HanadzlahConstituencySenator
Tasek GelugorMember of the Malaysian Parliament
for Tasek GelugorIn office
8 March 2008 – 5 May 2013Preceded byMohd Shariff Omar
(BN–UMNO)Succeeded byShabudin Yahaya
(BN–UMNO)Majority4,547 (2008) Personal detailsBorn
Nor Mohamed bin Yakcop

(1947-08-24) 24 August 1947 (age 76)
Penang, Malayan Union (now Malaysia)Political partyUnited Malays National Organisation (UMNO)Other political
affiliationsBarisan Nasional (BN)
Perikatan Nasional (PN)
Muafakat Nasional (MN)SpouseFawziah Begum Abu BakarChildren3Alma materUniversity of Malaya
Catholic University of LeuvenOccupationEconomist

Tan Sri Nor Mohamed bin Yakcop (Jawi: نور محمد بن يعقوب; born 24 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who served as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, in charge of Economic Planning Unit from 2009 to 2013. He had previously served as Minister of Finance II from 2004 to 2009.[1] He is a member of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Advisory Council.

Career

He served with Bank Negara, the Malaysian central bank from 1968 to 2000. During his time in Bank Negara he was responsible for the implementation of a number of major projects, including

  • the implementation of Islamic banking in Malaysia
  • the setting-up of the bilateral payments mechanism between Bank Negara Malaysia and Central Banks of South-South countries
  • the setting-up of the Rating Agency Malaysia Berhad.

He was also involved in a currency speculation scandal in the early 1990s, where Bank Negara lost up to RM30 billion. No action was taken as he moved on to hold important government positions.[2]

Yakcop was the Special Economic Adviser to former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

In 2002, he was appointed the director of Khazanah Nasional. He played a major role in government-linked companies (GLCs) like United Engineers Malaysia Berhad and Malaysia Airlines. The transformation of the GLCs was something he led on. Following the Asian financial crisis many of the GLCs were mired in debt and rudderless.

Yakcop restored their balance sheets using the Government's sovereign guarantee when necessary to cut down their borrowing costs. He installed new managers in the GLCs, giving them wide latitude to run the corporations honestly. To ensure that they delivered, he introduced key performance indicators and service contracts.

He was a member of the Dewan Negara, the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia, for two terms before stepping down to run for the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary constituency in Penang in the Malaysian elections on 8 March 2008.

Personal life

He was a student of St. Xavier's Institution in Penang and served as a prefect during his student days.

He is married to Puan Sri Fawziah Begum Abu Bakar, a former welfare officer. The couple have three children.

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia[3]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2008 P042 Tasek Gelugor, Penang Nor Mohamed Yakcop (UMNO) 20,448 56.25% Ismail Salleh (PAS) 15,901 43.75% 37,308 4,547 83.90%

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

References

  1. ^ Duty comes first for Nor Mohamed, The Star, 24 February 2008.
  2. ^ Fauwaz Abdul Aziz (25 July 2006). Forex scandal: Jaffar 'knew about losses'. Malaysiakini.
  3. ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri". Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 June 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout, including votes for third parties.
  4. ^ "518 to receive Perlis awards today". The Star. 17 May 2006. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Sultan of Pahang's 74th birthday honours list". The Star. 26 October 2004. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022.