Ranjit made new SC chairman

by **hlk** Sat 10 Mar 2012, 15:28

CHANGE OF GUARD: Fellow managing director Datuk Nik Ramlah Mahmood is appointed deputy chief executive

DATUK Ranjit Ajit Singh will succeed Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar as the new chairman of the Securities Commission (SC), in a keenly-watched change of guard at the capital market regulatory body.

Zarinah, who has held the post for six years, will retire when her term ends at the end of this month, according to a statement
from the SC late yesterday.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also Minister
of Finance, appointed Ranjit as chairman and Datuk Nik Ramlah
Mahmood as deputy chief executive, it said.

Both are currently managing directors of the SC and their appointments will take effect from April 1.

Market observers had in recent weeks speculated that Zarinah would leave when her term expired and that her successor would be from within the SC, hence, the announcement yesterday came as no surprise.

“Ranjit has been with the SC for a long time and knows the industry issues well. I hope he will pay more attention to enforcement and corporate governance, where there has to be substance over form,” said the director of a fund management firm that declined to be named.

Ranjit, a financial economist and accountant, has over 20 years of experience in the field of finance and securities regulation.
He has served the SC since 1994 in a variety of areas including market supervision and oversight, strategy and risk management,
financial policy and economics.

Nik Ramlah, meanwhile, is trained in law and has been with the SC for over 18 years covering legal and regulatory reform, product and market development and corporate governance, among other things.

Market observers noted that there has not been a deputy chief executive at the SC since Zarinah took on the top job in 2006.

Zarinah had been in that role before she was promoted to become executive chairman.

The SC, in its statement, said Zarinah has played a key role in strengthening and developing the Malaysian capital market over the past ten years, establishing a robust regulatory and governance framework which contributed to the growth of the market, and investing resources in building regulatory capacity.

“The SC was well-branded during her tenure,” fund manager commented.