KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Umno Youth chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki today proposed that his party deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan be made finance minister, to aid the government’s welfare efforts for the people.

Taking to Facebook, Asyraf said that the candidate for finance minister should be picked from among those who understand the pulse of the people and their struggles.

"In order to realise the #TuntutanRAKYAT related to the moratorium, i-Citra, adding value to the people’s aid packages who are currently in a very difficult situation, anxious and stressful, requires a finance minister to be chosen from among those who are used to working with the people and understanding their pulse.

"I suggest for the prime minister to consider appointing Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan as the finance minister in the new Cabinet. Agree with this view?” he wrote.

Mohamad is the former Negri Sembilan mentri besar during Barisan Nasional’s (BN) reign and is currently his party’s election director. The Rantau state assemblyman is seen as a more moderate and progressive leader in Umno.

At the height of Umno’s leadership crisis in 2018 following its current president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s court charges, Mohamad led the party while Ahmad Zahid took leave to face court trials.