Zeti Aziz, the quintessential Malaysian icon – Karim Raslan

Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz is an icon.

She has been one long before she became governor of Bank Negara in May 2000, having acted in that capacity since September 1998.

On the one hand, Zeti represents the surprising strength and achievements of Malaysia's women in occupying the highest offices of state. Moreover, she is no token appointee.

As Malaysia once again faces the squalls of global economic forces which bears an eerie  resemblance to the gloomy days leading up to the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis, it's worth bearing in mind the integral role she played in extracting us from near collapse then.

Bank Negara’s decision to peg the ringgit in 1998, while controversial, was a bold and necessary move at the time.

So what makes Tan Sri Zeti so special? For starters, she has been the quintessential central banker:  independent, unflinching and professional.

Zeti has often been a contrarian with markets, raising interest rates earlier than others and then stopping and not cutting them quickly like others do.

Throughout her years guiding our financial sector she has maintained the industry's health and resilience despite the inevitable storms.

That our economy can still function and that businesses can still get credit when they need it despite recent headwinds is no small testament to her efforts.

It is true that she was well-born. Her father is the famous Johorean academic Ungku Aziz while her late mother was the writer and activist Azah Aziz.

But Zeti got to where she is by merit, rather than by being someone’s wife or daughter.

Which brings me to my second point: Zeti is a resolute example of how the New Economic Policy (NEP) as well as the general imperative to empower the Bumiputeras across the decades have worked.

These days, we often focus on NEP’s failures. It is right that we do so when we consider the opportunities and resources squandered.

Nonetheless, we shouldn’t also forget its successes and Zeti is certainly one, a central banker with global reputation for integrity and steadfastness.

She has always stood out, excelling at every one of the elite educational institutions she enrolled in, from Assunta High School to the St John’s Institution to Universiti Malaya to the University of Pennsylvania, where her PhD dissertation was on capital flows and monetary policy.

Indeed, we must not forget that in 1970, the number of Bumiputera professionals (including architects, accountants, dentists, doctors and engineers) stood at just 4.3%.By 2005, this had risen to 38.8%.

If one includes the technical category, 63.8% of all Bumiputera workers were in these professions by 2000.

While many Malays used the opportunities afforded by the NEP to get rich via government contracts, others, like Zeti, chose to join the ranks of a long line of distinguished and extremely disciplined bureaucrats that toiled in the shadows of their better-known political masters.

In her example, one recalls her predecessors as Bank Negara Governor Tun Ismail Mohammad Ali, Petronas’ Raja Tun Mohar Raja Badiozaman, Felda’s Raja Tan Sri Muhammad Alias Raja Muhammad Ali, and Tan Sri Ahmad Zakaria Noordin Haji Zakaria, the auditor-general who dared to take on the all-powerful and strong-willed Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the BMF issue.

All of these highly educated and tireless individuals – part of a group of distinguished Malay professionals created and most importantly empowered by Tun Razak – contributed immensely to what Malaysia is today. To their ranks one must also add the legions of obscure but just as dedicated, highly principled judges, doctors, administrators and technocrats.

But while the two groups have almost always been able to work together, the Malay professional has at times had to fend off the demands of the political class.

The former have had to draw a line with regards to what can and cannot be accepted. This has always been the case, going back to the days of the Malacca sultanate.

Still, situations like these are always difficult.

Who can best decide what is in the public and national interest: elected politicians or appointed bureaucrats?

The push and pull has been an integral part of Malaysian public life.

But she means so much more. An icon of integrity, brilliance and professionalism she stands for the very best our nation has to offer.

 We desperately need people like her to help navigate Malaysia out of the troubled economic times ahead. – August 8, 2015. 

* Karim Raslan is an acclaimed Southeast Asian commentator and columnist.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.