Pakatan Harapan chairman Anwar, who unveiled his list of 28 Cabinet members today, said these advisers will be working on a pro-bono basis.

Hassan’s appointment was part of a new policy approach that Anwar said he wanted to adopt, in order to restore economic confidence.

To carry out that objective, he would be assisted by “a strong team” not only of civil servants but also a group of advisers who would assist the government on several matters, especially on the country’s finances, to be headed by Hassan.

The 70-year-old Hassan played a key role in turning state-owned oil giant Petronas into a global corporation with a steady record of consistent profits.

An accountant by training, Hassan was in the five-member advisory team known as the Council of Eminent Persons which then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad established when Pakatan Harapan won the government in 2018.