THE people of Malaysia can place their trust in the Council of Eminent Persons to get the country back on the right track, said tycoon Robert Kuok.

Speaking to Malaysian media for the first time upon his arrival in Kuala Lumpur today, Kuok described the council members as “very, very fine Malaysians”.

“I happen to be living in Hong Kong, so I don’t attend too often, but Daim, Zeti, Hassan Marican, Professor Jomo, they are excellent people. Trust them.”

The 94-year-old Kuok was named among the five members of the council, alongside ex-finance minister Daim Zainuddin, former central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former chief executive of state oil firm Petronas Mohd Hassan Marican and prominent economist Professor Jomo Kwame Sundram.

Asked what he thought of the government, Kuok said: “What can I say? All of us wish our country well. We hope the people, especially the rakyat, are taken care of.”

He declined to comment when asked if he is staying for the remaining 90 days the council is set to meet regularly.

The council, set up days after the Pakatan Harapan government was formed, has kept busy, meeting senior government officials, government-linked companies and civil society organisations as it steps into its role as adviser to the government. – May 22, 2018.