Malaysia’s second largest pension fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) has appointed Azmi Abdullah as acting chief executive officer as it searches for a successor to Nik Amlizan Nik Mohamed, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Nik Amlizan left on March 31 after completing her five-year term as CEO of KWAP, which manages the retirement savings of civil servants. The fund had 185.6 billion ringgit (US$ 46.9 billion) of assets at the end of 2024, the latest publicly available figure.
Azmi, who was the first CEO of local lender SME Bank, is a member of KWAP’s board. He also sits on the boards of Transnational Insurance Brokers, e-wallet firm Bayo Pay, and ECS Solutions, an accounting solutions firm.
The people familiar with the matter tell Asia Asset Management that Nik Amlizan had wanted Hazman Hilmi Sallahuddin, KWAP’s chief investment officer, to be her successor.
They say the fact that he wasn’t appointed suggests that the government’s representatives on the fund’s board may have disagreed with her choice.
Local business newspaper The Edge reported earlier this month that Nurhisham Hussein, a senior director of economy and finance at the Prime Minister’s Office, and Jay Khairil, the CEO of local lender Bank Simpanan Nasional, are front runners for the job.
KWAP spokespersons did not immediately respond to questions from Asia Asset Management.
