Shamsul Azri's mammoth task to drive public service, national development

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 7 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, announced today as the new Chief Secretary to the Government (KSN), effective Aug 12, will take on the significant task of driving public service and national development.

Taking over from Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali, Shamsul Azri, 55, will be the Cabinet Secretary, Chief Public Service Officer of Malaysia, and Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Department (JPM).

Based on checks on the list of former KSNs from 2006 to 2024, Shamsul Azri is the second individual from the Public-Private Partnership Unit (UKAS) to be appointed as a KSN. The first one was the late Tan Sri Ali Hamsa. 

The former UKAS director-general will also face the challenge of advancing the Malaysia MADANI framework introduced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as an effort to guide and elevate the country on the global stage based on six principles, namely sustainability, well-being, creativity, respect, trust, and compassion.

Shamsul Azri, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States of America, has 30 years of experience in public service.

He has also received exposure at several international institutions, including the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD), and served in the Ministry of Finance, the Public Service Department and in state government administration.

Mohd Zuki was reported as saying that the Unity Government placed high trust in the public service to implement the national development agenda and put Malaysia on the right trajectory towards becoming a developed country.  

Anwar said that from the first day he assumed office as Prime Minister in November 2022, Mohd Zuki has consistently provided advice, suggestions, and perspectives for the benefit of the public service and the nation.

Mohd Zuki, 62, began his tenure as KSN on Dec 31, 2019, and was reappointed on a contract basis from Aug 11, 2022, to Aug 10, 2024.