Flamboyant Irwan no longer heads Treasury.
The government has decided to shorten the service contract of Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah as Secretary-General of the Treasury to June 14, 2018.
According to Chief Secretary to the Government (KSN) Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa, Irwan Serigar was appointed on contract as Secretary-General of the Treasury beginning March 7 last year to March 6, 2019.
“Effective May 14, 2018, until June 13, 2018, the officer (Mohd Irwan Serigar) is emplaced with the Public Service Department (PSD) and not allowed to discharge his duties as Secretary-General of the Treasury, Ministry of Finance or anything associated with the Finance Ministry,” said Ali.
Usually accessible to the media, Irwan declined to give any reaction.
He entered the Treasury building at about 11.45am after attending a special meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad together with senior officials of the civil service on the implementation of 10 pledges during the first 100 days at the Perdana Leadership Foundation at Precinct 8.
At about 1 pm, Irwan left the Treasury building clutching a file and leaving in a car.
As Secretary-General of the Treasury, he headed over a dozen government-linked corporations, including 1MDB.
Known for his flamboyant style of dressing, Irwan has his own talk show, ‘Only One With Irwan’, which is broadcast by local television channel TV Al-Hijrah.
More recently, he was embroiled in a controversy surrounding the Malaysian startup ecosystem, where he is seen as a patron as chairman of the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC).
According to screenshots of WhatsApp messages that have gone viral on social media, he had cut off funding for the Women Entrepreneur Network Association Malaysia (WENA) after its president Nadira Yusoff expressed her admiration for Dr Mahathir before polling day on May 9.
The WhatsApp screenshots show Irwan apparently punishing Nadira for voicing her admiration for Mahathir and his wife in a now-deleted Facebook post.
“You are taking my one post, about my admiration, on his fighting spirit, to punish me? That is very unfair, Tan Sri,” Nadira wrote in reply from a group called “M’sian Startup Ecosystem”.
The reply from the name “Tan Sri Irwan Serigar” was, “No point discussing anymore. Decision already being made.
“I’m very disappointed. Don’t ever come to me for help. All those who think she is right, better resign from Govt.”
Despite apologies from Nadira, “Tan Sri Irwan Serigar” said that he will not accept her apology.
“Action will be taken against you immediately,” he said.