FORMER chief secretary to the Government (KSN) Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa died at Dublin Hospital in Ireland today while seeking treatment.
The demise of Ali, 66, who was Malaysia’s 13th chief secretary was confirmed by Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali who is currently helming the post, reported The Sun. He had served as chief secretary from June 24, 2012 to Aug 30, 2018.
Zuki has described the Johor-born Ali’s death in this holy month of Ramadhan as a big loss to Malaysia and its public service.
Ali graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from University of Malaya before furthering his studies at Oklahoma State University in the US where he obtained Master’s degree in Economics in 1986 followed by PhD in Environmental Sciences and Economics in 1997.
Ali joined the Administrative and Diplomatic Service as an assistant director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Jan 5, 1981. In 1986, he was made senior project manager (Economy and Public Policy Management) at the National Institute of Public Administration where he co-authored two books namely Dasar-Dasar Utama Kerajaan (1997) and Malaysia Kita (1998).
After a short stint at the Transport Ministry in 1992, he further his study and obtain his PhD. Upon returning from the US, Ali began serving at Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department. where he consecutively held the positions as the Disbursement Division’s director and the National Transformation and Advancement Programme’s deputy director-general.
In April 2009, Ali assumed the post of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Unit director-general, a central agency under the Prime Minister’s Department to spearhead PPP initiatives namely privatisation projects, private finance initiatives, corridor developments and facilitation funds.
He was sworn in as the 13th Chief Secretary to the Government on June 23, 2012 before former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, a position which he held until Aug 28, 2019.
In October 2017, Ali became first Malaysian to receive an honorary science doctorate from B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai, India. He was appointed as independent non-executive director of the G Capital Bhd on June 1, 2020 before being re-designated as an executive director 10 days later. – April 21, 2022
