KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 — Bank Rakyat, the country’s largest Islamic cooperative bank, will get “the best-suited candidate” as its new chairman and the person is being sourced from among professionals.
Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the appointment will be subject to the Fit and Proper criteria by Bank Negara Malaysia to ensure the candidate is capable of overseeing Bank Rakyat strategically.
“The bank will adhere strictly to the high standards of governance as expected by our stakeholders and shareholder,” he said in a statement issued by Bank Rakyat today.
The cooperative bank announced last week the termination of Datuk Noripah Kamso’s services as chairman effective April 4.
“The chairman’s role at Bank Rakyat is a non-executive position and its appointment and removal is in accordance with the power conferred to the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives under Section 1(2) for appointment and 2(2) for removal of the First Schedule, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd Act (Special Provisions) 1978 (Act 202),” Wan Junaidi said.
Chief executive officer Datuk Rosman Mohamed said the bank will continue to focus on assisting cooperatives, small and medium-sized industries (SMEs) and micro businesses while not neglecting its core retail business that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The core retail business includes Personal Financing-i, Auto Financing-i, Home Financing-i and Pawn Broking-i Ar-Rahnu.
Rosman noted that RM300 million has been earmarked for the BizCare campaign launched recently.
“Bank Rakyat has been delivering a consistent average annual operating profit of RM1.6 billion over the last five years and is gearing its products and services to give back to the community and the bank’s customers,” he said.
He said this performance has also translated into double-digit dividend returns for the last 10 years and zakat (tithe) contributions above RM30 million, which were mainly due to the great teamwork across all levels and a robust management team that has been focusing on sales and credit recovery.
He said the bank will also re-evaluate its BR25 initiative (five-year strategic plan) launched last year to meet the needs and demand of its customers post-Covid-19, which will see the emergence of a new economic landscape. — Bernama
