Muhammad Ibrahim takes over from Zeti

Kuala Lumpur

MUHAMMAD Ibrahim has been appointed the next governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) with effect from May 1 - taking over from Zeti Akhtar Aziz, who retires at the end of April after helming the central bank for 16 years. His appointment, announced by Prime Minister Najib Razak in a statement on Wednesday, ends months of speculation over who would fill the "hot seat".

Having a safe pair of hands at BNM became all the more imperative this week after troubled state investment fund 1MDB defaulted on a US$50 million interest payment on a US$1.75 billion bond issue by its subsidiary, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd - the first by a near-sovereign entity.

The most senior deputy governor, Mr Muhammad will be the central bank's eighth governor. He was viewed as the best candidate by BNM's board of directors as well as financial markets because of his …