Rafizi: My stand on the separation of duties between PM and Finance ministry remains, but we are in extraordinary circumstances

PUTRAJAYA - Economy minister Rafizi Ramli says due to "extraordinary" circumstances the Prime Minister is now the Finance Minister under the unity government.

However he said his stand on the separation of duties between the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister remains.

"Ideally we should separate the duties of the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister, but due to the extraordinary circumstances where no party could form a government, a tough decision needed to be made." he said at a press conference after clocking in to work, today at Menara Prisma, Putrajaya.

Rafizi added that the decision must have been difficult due to the combination of coalitions that form the current government.

" Of course each component wants the position of Finance Minister to be on their side.

" Since it is an extraordinary situation, the decision made for me is appropriate for now, as in it is easier for the Prime Minister to be the Finance Minister so that there will be no issues from the different parties in the unity government.

" But I hope as we move forward and as we put everything in place then certainly the situation now is an exception but not a norm," he said During the press conference, Rafizi also mentioned that he will focus more on less endowed states and economically vulnerable groups in society while zeroing in on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), technology and knowledge economy.