Datuk Ali was appointed by the Minister of Finance on 1 March 1999. Prior to this, he was the Executive Chairman and Partner of Ernst & Young. Datuk Ali has indicated that he will be returning to private practice.

Tan Sri Nor also announced the appointment of Dato’ Md Nor Md Yusof as Chairman of the Securities Commission, with effect from 1 April 2004. Tan Sri Nor stated that Datin Zarinah Anwar, the Commission’s Deputy Chief Executive, will perform the duties of the Chairman during the transition.

Tan Sri Nor thanked Datuk Ali for his excellent services to the nation, and acknowledged his substantial contribution to the development of the Malaysian capital market. This included implementing key initiatives under challenging market conditions and strengthening foundations for sustainable growth of the capital market.

Under Datuk Ali’s chairmanship, the Commission emphasised the importance of strategic clarity, a facilitative regulatory environment with strong enforcement and investor protection, and effective regulatory capacity. The Capital Market Masterplan, a 10-year strategic blueprint for the development of the Malaysian capital market, was launched in 2001.

During his tenure, the Commission focused on strengthening corporate governance and enhancing investor confidence, with Malaysia now recognised as among those countries regarded as having the most improved corporate governance frameworks. Enforcement and surveillance were enhanced substantially, as reflected by successful prosecutions in several high profile cases, resulting in the first criminal conviction for insider trading and the first custodial sentence for a public listed company director for breaches of the securities laws.

Significant efforts were also made to develop the bond market into a competitive source of financing, and the Commission was established as the single regulatory authority for corporate bond issuance and prospectus registration. Malaysia’s bond market now ranks amongst the largest in emerging markets.

Datuk Ali further emphasised the development of the Islamic capital market, which saw the substantial broadening of products, including various forms of Islamic debt securities, equity-based derivatives, equity indices and managed funds.

Consolidation of the five exchanges and three clearing houses into a single group to strengthen the competitive position of the Malaysian market was also completed during Datuk Ali’s tenure. Demutualisation of the exchange was undertaken to facilitate the exchange’s business model transformation. This also unlocked dormant value, thereby facilitating the establishment of a Capital Market Development Fund (CMDF).

Datuk Ali emphasised the importance of the Commission’s strong involvement in international regulatory activities as part of efforts towards enhancing Malaysia’s role in international regulatory policy making. He was appointed as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), chairman of IOSCO’s Asia-Pacific Regional Committee, and head of the Islamic Capital Markets Task Force.