GEORGE TOWN, April 12 — Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has consented to the appointment of former diplomat Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak as Penang’s eighth Yang Dipertua Negeri.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said today that the state government was officially notified of the appointment on April 8.

Ahmad Fuzi would receive his appointment letter on April 30 at Istana Negara and would be sworn in on May 1 at Dewan Sri Pinang here, he told a press conference here.

"On behalf of the Penang state government, we welcome Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak as the eighth governor of Penang,” he said.

Chow expressed his gratitude to current Penang Governor Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas for his 20 years of service.

Chow said that he and the state secretary paid a courtesy call to Abdul Rahman at 12.30 pm today to inform him of Ahmad Fuzi’s appointment.

Born in Sungai Bakap, Penang on Jan 8, 1949, Ahmad Fuzi joined the Malaysian diplomatic and administrative service in 1972 and had served in various capacities including secretary-general in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 2009.

He had led the Malaysian senior official delegation in negotiations at various bilateral, regional and international conferences and was involved in organising summits such as the NAM Summit, OIC Summit and Asean Summit.

On the corporate side, he was chairman of various companies including Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Am Bhd, AsiaEP Bhd, Amanahraya REIT Bhd and Ranhill Energy Resources Sdn Bhd.

He is currently the secretary-general of the World Islamic Economic Foundation, ACE Holdings Bhd group chairman and chairman of ACE Investment Bank Ltd, Seremban Engineering Bhd, Theatre Management Associates Sdn Bhd, IMAN Research Consulting Sdn Bhd and TAERG International Sdn Bhd.

He also sits on the Board of Governors of Meritus University and is an advisor to the Bukit Mertajam High School Alumni Malaysia.

Ahmad Fuzi is married with two children. — Bernama