Zaid wants Bank Negara governor to delete name from ‘politically exposed persons’ list

PETALING JAYA: Former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim (pic) has requested that Bank Negara remove his name from its list of “politically exposed persons” (PEP).

The former Kota Baru MP said he had experienced problems while conducting transactions at banks or opening accounts.

"Yesterday, a young lady at a money changer described me as PEP, I had RM1,000 to change to Thai baht.

"She said I had to wait four to five minutes for clearance.

"Two years ago, CIMB told me my application to open an account had to get clearance because I was a PEP. It took too long, I told them to forget it," he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Zaid said his son’s law firm also faced problems due to him being a PEP.

He said he is appealing to the learned Bank Negara governor to delete his name as a PEP.

Zaid said having his name listed as PEP does not make sense and has caused unnecessary hardship to him and his family.

He said Bank Negara could check his state of finances and have access to all his and his family’s bank accounts.

"I live like most retired people, on some savings and nothing else. There is no need to aggravate my life by putting me as a PEP," he said, adding that he holds no political ambition nor even a position in a political party.