Mohd Irwan Serigar bin Abdullah (born 7 March 1957) served as the Secretary General of the Treasury in the
Ministry of Finance
A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position .
A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
from 2011 to May 14, 2018. He was also chairman of the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Center (MaGIC) and the founder and patron of the Global Entrepreneurship Movement (GEM), a networking platform.
Mohd Irwan also held the portfolio of Secretary General of the Treasury at
Central Bank
A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...
and Executive Director at
Universiti Putra Malaysia
University of Putra Malaysia ( Malay: ''Universiti Putra Malaysia''), abbreviated as UPM, is a Malaysian public research university located in Serdang, Selangor. Formerly it was named Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Agricultural University of ...
(UPM), the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia and Pendinginan Megajana Sdn. Bhd. Prior to that, he was appointed Deputy Under-Secretary in the Economic and International Division in the Ministry of Finance in 2007 and Under-Secretary in the same division in 2008.
Education
Mohd Irwan obtained a Bachelor of Demographic Studies (Hons) from the
University of Malaya
The Universiti Malaya (lit 'University of Malaya'; abbreviated UM) is a public university, public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in ...
,
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
in 1982 before furthering his studies at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, United States with a Master of Science in Energy, Management and Policy. Mohd Irwan received his doctorate degree from the
in Kuala Lumpur. He also participated in an advanced management program organized by the
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
during the Spring 2008 session.
Career
Early career
Mohd Irwan started his career in the public sector in the Economic Planning Unit in the
Prime Minister's Department
A cabinet department or prime minister's department is a department or other government agency that directly supports the work of the government's central executive office, usually the cabinet and/or prime minister, rather than specific minister ...
in 1984. His position at that time was as Assistant Director from 1984 to 1986. He then served as Assistant Director of Industry Division, Economic Planning Unit from 1986 to 1987. From 1987 to 1998, he was the Senior Assistant Director of the Energy Division. Beginning in 1999, he served as Senior Assistant Director of the Privatization Division, Economic Planning Unit. In 2003, he joined the Economic and International Division, Ministry of Finance as Chief Assistant Secretary. From 2004 to 2006, Mohd Irwan was appointed as Head of Econometrics Section, Economic and International Division of the Ministry of Finance, subsequently appointed Head of Multi Lateral Relations in the same division in 2006. His career continued by holding the role of Deputy Secretary General (Policy) in 2011 and Secretary General of the Treasury in 2012.
Mohd Irwan also served as a Director of Felda Global Ventures Holdings Berhad from November 29, 2012, to July 16, 2013; Non-Executive Director of Selangor Water Supply Company; Non-Independent Non-Executive Director of Padiberas Nasional Bhd. from August 26, 2011, to April 2013. He was also entrusted to hold the position of Non-Independent Non-Executive Director at AmanahRaya-JMF Asset Management Sdn. Bhd. and Manager of the AmanahRaya Property Investment Trust Fund since November 29, 2007. Apart from being involved in trust management at AmanahRaya, he is also one of the trustees in the National Equity Foundation.
Late career
Mohd Irwan was appointed as chairman of Malaysia's Retirement Fund (KWAP) on August 24, 2012.
He was also a member of the Blue Ocean Strategy Group (NBOS) in the Economic Planning Unit, PRO3-Based Learning Project Steering Committee at the Germany-Malaysia Institute (GMI) also the Strategic API Steering Committee and the Strategic Planning Panel at the Ministry of Finance. In May 2017, he was given the role of leading TRX City and
Bandar Malaysia
Bandar Malaysia was a proposed mixed-use transit-oriented development located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This project was to be built at the current Simpang Airport, Sungai Besi Air Base site over 20 years. It was also planned as a central tra ...
.
Under the governance of Mohd Irwan as the Secretary General of the Treasury, Ministry of Finance implemented various initiatives such as National Transformation 2050 and National Sandbox Regulation.
On February 8, 2018, Mohd Irwan through MaGIC implemented another initiative with his partners, pioneering the Malaysian Socially Participating and Dynamic Entrepreneurship (MasSIVE) movement. Among MaGIC's partners are Impact4Humanity, iM4U, myHarapan, Malaysian Innovation Agency (AIM), Yayasan Hasanah, eFM, and ngohub.Asia.
1MDB
Along with former Malaysian prime minister
Najib Razak
Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...
, Mohd Irwan has been charged for criminal breach of trust in relation to the
1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal
The 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, often referred to as the 1MDB scandal or just 1MDB, is an ongoing corruption, bribery and money laundering conspiracy in which the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) ...
. In addition, 1MDB has alleged that Mohd Irwan conspired to cause the company to suffer losses and damages. In this regard, 1MDB has demanded that Mohd Irwan pay US$6.59 billion.
Honors
Abdullah is the recipient of various awards and degrees at the federal, state and administrative levels, including in the Economic Planning Unit. The awards he received include the 1989 Outstanding Service Award in the Economic Planning Unit, the 1989 Outstanding Service Award in the Prime Minister's Department, the 1996 Outstanding Service Award in the Economic Planning Unit, and the 2005 Outstanding Service Award in the Ministry of Finance. He also received the Best Working Paper award at the First International Conference of the Asian Applied Business Academy in 2003.
Honours
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**

Commander of the
Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign.
The order was instituted on 15 April 1966 and gazetted on 30 June 1966 ...
(PSM) – Tan Sri (2013)
* :
**

Knight Companion of the
Order of the Crown of Pahang
The Esteemed Order of the Crown of Pahang ( Malay: '' Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Pahang Yang Amat Mulia'') is a knighthood order of the Sultanate of Pahang.
History
The order was founded by Sultan Abu Bakar on 27 December 1968. It is awarded ...
(DIMP) – Dato' (2006)
**

Grand Knight of the
Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang
The Most Illustrious Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang ( Malay: ''Darjah Kebesaran Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang Yang Amat Di Mulia'') is a knighthood order of the Sultanate of Pahang.
History
The order was founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah on 24 O ...
(SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2012)
* :
**

Knight Commander of the
Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Kelantan (SPSK) – Dato' (2012)
* :
**

Knight Commander of the
Exalted Order of Malacca
The Exalted Order of Malacca () is the third-highest state order of Malacca which is conferred by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca. The order was constituted in 1978 by Yang di-Pertua Negeri Syed Zahiruddin along with the Premier and Exalted ...
(DCSM) – Datuk Wira (2012)
References
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Malaysian people of Indian descent
1957 births
Living people
People from Kelantan
University of Malaya alumni
Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia