KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 ― National sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional will still be run and managed by professionals, with more to be appointed to the board later, Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said today.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament today, Azmin said that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad being appointed as the chairman of the board was done "by convention”, to provide the direction for the government’s economic agenda.

"The management of Khazanah will still be done by professionals. The PM is looking at a few more names and an announcement will be made soon,” he said.

Azmin was also appointed to the board of Khazanah yesterday, shortly after the previous board resigned en masse.

He said that the managing director and individuals in charge of the finances and administration will be appointed among professionals.

"[These roles] will not involve the PM,” he said.

Azmin himself, Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, Dr Sukhdave Singh and Goh Ching Yin have also been appointed directors of the sovereign wealth fund.

Nine directors of Khazanah Nasional, including its managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar and executive committee chairman Nor Md Yusof, resigned on July 26 to allow the new government to decide the leadership of the fund.