Ali Hamsa


Ali bin Hamsa is the 13th Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia, serving as Chief Secretary from 24 June 2012 to 30 August 2018.

Education

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from University of Malaya before furthering his studies at Oklahoma State University, the United States of America where he obtained master's degree in Economics in 1986 followed by PhD in Environmental Sciences and Economics in 1997.

Career

Ali joined the Administrative and Diplomatic Service as an Assistant Director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry on 5 January 1981. In 1986, he was made Senior Project Manager, Economy and Public Policy Management at the National Institute of Public Administration where he co-authored two books namely "Dasar-Dasar Utama Kerajaan" and "Malaysia Kita".
After a short stint at the Ministry of Transport in 1992, his relentless pursuit of knowledge led him to obtain his Ph.D. in 1997 and upon returning from the United States, he began serving at Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister's Department. He consecutively held the positions of Director of Disbursement Division and Deputy Director-General of the National Transformation and Advancement Program.
On 22 April 2009, Ali was appointed as the Director-General of Public-Private Partnership Unit, PMD, a central agency created to spearhead PPP initiatives namely privatisation projects, Private Finance Initiatives, corridor developments and facilitation funds. He was sworn in as the Chief Secretary to the Government on 23rd June 2012 before Prime Minister Najib Razak in Parliament.
As the Chief Secretary, he is Chairman of the Malaysian Integrity Institute, Co-Chair of the Special Task Force to Facilitate Business, and Deputy Chairman of Johor Corporation. Ali was also a Director of Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad, Member of Penang Port Commission and Member of the Board of Bumiputera Agenda Coordinating Unit.
In October 2017, he became first Malaysian to receive an honorary science doctorate from B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai, India.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia