Employees Provident Fund (EPF) chief executive officer Shahril Ridza Ridzuan is among those tipped to take over as the managing director of Khazanah Nasional.
According to The Edge Financial Daily, Shahril, 48, is in the running for the post along with several others.
Shahril has led EPF since 2013 and has been with the fund since 2009.
Other names mentioned for the post are Khazanah deputy managing directors Tengku Azmil Zahruddin and Ahmad Zulkarnain Onn, Selangor Menteri Besar Inc CEO Raja Shahreen Raja Othman, Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) CEO Yusof Annuar Yaacob, Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd managing director Charon Mokhzani and former Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd CEO Mohd Zafer Mohd Hashim.
On July 26, Khazanah's nine-member board of directors, including managing director Azman Mokhtar, resigned en bloc. The latter had helmed the sovereign wealth fund for 14 years.
They were swiftly replaced with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad becoming the new chairperson and Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali as one its directors.
The other directors are Council of Eminent Persons member and former Petronas president Mohd Hassan Marican; former Bank Negara deputy governor Sukhdave Singh; and former Securities Commission Malaysia executive Goh Ching Yin.
Yesterday, former youth and sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin expressed hope that one of the two deputies appointed by Azman would be considered for the managing director position.
The Umno lawmaker, who praised Azman for making Khazanah a success, accused the government of attempting to discredit and embarrass the former managing director.
Khairy said this in response to the revelation in the Dewan Rakyat that Khazanah blew RM80 million on an investment related to the online sale of lingerie.
He also claimed that Mahathir, who has accused Khazanah of straying from its original objectives, did not give Azman an appointment since the May 9 general election to brief him.
“For more than two months, the managing director of our nation’s sovereign wealth fund was denied the opportunity to even meet and brief the prime minister. This also resulted in the Khazanah board not being able to convene its meetings.
“The message was simple: 'We want you out but we are not going to get our hands dirty since there are no real grounds for your dismissal'.
“The Khazanah board understood the message. And being the responsible individuals they are, they offered their resignations en bloc,” he added.
