Zeti keeps rate at 3.25%, her last before retiring

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA'S central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz made her last scheduled interest rate decision before she exits from an institution she's led for 16 years. Investors are still in the dark about who will replace her in May.

Dr Zeti's leadership began in turmoil, when she briefly acted as governor in the midst of the Asian financial crisis, and will be ending with the nation gripped by what may be the biggest political impasse since independence in 1957.

The rate decision itself was an easier call: All 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast no change to the benchmark, now at 3.25 per cent. Dr Zeti has kept …