She has been named co-chair of the secretariat together with Petronas senior manager Khairil Anuar Ramli. Their role would be to support the advisory panel’s operations. The secretariat is located at the Petronas Twin Towers.

Advisory panel chairman Hassan Marican said the decision to form the secretariat was made during the panel’s first meeting on Friday.

The meeting, which was chaired by Hassan, also included the other committee members, namely FVSB executive chairman Ahmad Fuad Ali, Sarawak Energy Bhd chairman Abdul Hamed Sapawi, and economists Yeah Kim Leng and Rajah Rasiah.

Hassan said that the advisory panel’s primary role, among others, was to advise Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on ways to increase the nation’s revenue base and reduce the operating expenditure.

“The advisory panel will also advise the minister on matters related to subsidies, which includes reviewing and restructuring existing subsidies, and the provision of more holistic social protection,” he said in a statement.

Hassan said the panel would also advise on matters related to government-linked companies (GLC), including determining their relevance in the current context and consolidating them where appropriate, and other matters related to the national debt and good governance.

The panel reports directly to Anwar, who is also the finance minister, and will meet as frequently as needed.

The formation of the advisory panel was announced by Anwar last week, who said that its members would not be receiving any pay.