SPECULATIONS abound that the Treasury secretary-general Datuk Seri Asri Hamidon @ Hamidin (main photo, left) has been asked to go on leave indefinitely.
For the record, Asri was appointed to his current position on May 1, 2020 during the administration of former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. He had previously served under former finance minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz (main pic, right) who was again retained as finance minister under the government of Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
But following the change of government which culminated in the formation of a unity government under the premiership of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Tengku Zafrul is now the newly minted International Trade and Industry Minister while Anwar has himself assumed the portfolio of Finance Minister.
A call by FocusM to Asri’s office revealed that he “has gone on leave since yesterday (Dec 6)” but it cannot be immediately confirmed if this is due to his annual leave or there is an impending change in the MOF’s top brass line-up following the appointment of a new minister.
FocusM is now awaiting the response of Anwar’s communications team on the matter.
Asri was conspicuously absent when Anwar clocked in as Finance Minister yesterday (Dec 6).
Meanwhile, a source told MalaysiaNow that Asri has been placed on leave beginning yesterday (Dec 6), a move that coincides with Anwar’s first day of duty as the finance minister.
“The secretary-general didn’t greet Anwar. He was placed on leave,” the news portal cited the source as saying “During the first meeting at MOF, Anwar (himself) said that the secretary-general would be replaced.”
Asri was previously the deputy secretary-general of Treasury (Policy), the position he assumed since Nov 25, 2019 before his appointment to his current position. – Dec 7, 2022
Main photo credit: Bernama
