Ali Hamsa

Ali graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Malaya before furthering his studies at Oklahoma State University, US, where he obtained a master's degree in Economics in 1986, followed by a PhD in Environmental Sciences and Economics in 1997.

Ali joined the Administrative and Diplomatic Service (PTD) as an Assistant Director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry on 5 January 1981. In 1986, he was made Senior Project Manager, Economy and Public Policy Management at the National Institute of Public Administration, where he co-authored two books, namely Dasar-dasar Utama Kerajaan (1997) and Malaysia Kita (1998).

After a short stint at the Ministry of Transport in 1992, Ali furthered his studies and obtained his PhD in 1997. Upon returning from the US, he began serving at the Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister's Department (PMD). He consecutively held the positions of Director of Disbursement Division and Deputy Director-General of the National Transformation and Advancement Programme.

On 22 April 2009, Ali was appointed the Director-General of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Unit, PMD, a central agency created to spearhead PPP initiatives, namely privatisation projects, private finance initiatives, corridor developments, and facilitation funds. He was sworn in as the Chief Secretary to the Government on 23 June 2012, before Prime Minister Najib Razak in Parliament.

As the Chief Secretary, Ali was the Chairman of the Malaysian Integrity Institute, Co-Chair of the Special Task Force to Facilitate Business, and Deputy Chairman of Johor Corporation. Ali was also a non-executive director of Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad, a member of the Penang Port Commission, and a member of the Board of Bumiputera Agenda Coordinating Unit.

In October 2017, Ali became the first Malaysian to receive an honorary science doctorate from the B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai, India.