PUTRAJAYA: It is an extraordinary circumstance currently for a prime minister to helm the finance minister portfolio, but this should only be practised for a short time, Economic Affairs Minister Rafizi Ramli said.
Rafizi said that, ideally, these two portfolios should be separated, and his principle has not changed.
"Despite the circumstances now that are pressuring us to do so, this should not be practised over the long term in a government system.
"However, we are now in a situation where no one party can form a government and needs to work with each other.
"At the same time, we need strong economic leadership that could be the core of government programmes.
"In my view, this is a tough decision that has been taken, but I think that is the right move to make for now," he told reporters after clocking in on his first day in the office here today.
In the past, Rafizi has been a strong opponent of the concept of a prime minister helming the finance minister's post, especially during the tenure of the then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, during the controversy surrounding 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Last Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that he would also be the finance minister in the new cabinet of the unity government.
Before this, Anwar, 75, held the finance minister portfolio for eight years, from 1991 to 1998, under the stewardship of then-Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
During his tenure, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman was named the Finance Minister of the Year by Asiamoney in 1996. Euromoney named him as a top four finance minister at the time.
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