KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — Malaysia’s central bank will likely decide who will take over as governor by the end of January next year, incumbent Tan Sri Zeti Akthar Aziz said today.

Zeti, who will have held the post for 16 years when she retires in April, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) should be close to deciding on a suitable replacement for her.

“They should finalise the selection of the successor three months before the appointment,” she said at a news conference here.

Last August, Zeti said she would see through her term amid speculations that she had quit for health reasons.

She also dismissed talk that she had suffered a heart attack, saying that she was giving a luncheon address in the US when the rumour started making its rounds.

The timing of the speculation over her purported resignation coincided with the announcement that BNM was made part of a multi-agency special taskforce to probe state-owned firm 1 Malaysia Development Berhad, headed by the-then Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail.