Faithful to his duty till the very end

"My health condition is not good and I might probably take admission in a hospital, so you guys should send the draft of the monetary policy soon.

"It would be difficult for me to review the draft policy if you do not submit it in the quickest possible time."

The remarks were made by Allah Malik Kazemi, change management adviser of Bangladesh Bank, just days before he was hospitalised on June 22 for coronavirus infection.

He parted for the great beyond on June 26, his elusive retirement finally materialising at the age of 75.

Kazemi's long-time colleagues at Monetary Policy Department are still trying to come to terms with his passing.

"It is a great shock for us that sir will never give the final touches on the monetary policy, what he had done for years," said one.

The central bank had earlier decided to unveil the monetary policy statement for next fiscal year early next month but it is now difficult to do so due to the absence of Kazemi, he said.

The central bank is highly dependent on Kazemi to frame not only the monetary policy but also other different guidelines for the financial sector.

For this reason, he had been appointed adviser to the central bank soon after his retirement as deputy governor in 2007.

The central bank was able to tackle the previous great recession and its aftershock successfully since 2007 by way of implementing different models framed by Kazemi, said Atiur Rahman, a former governor of Bangladesh Bank, who worked closely with him.

He served the central bank until his death and is also a torchbearer for officials of the country's central bank, he said. 

Kazemi was also a brilliant student as he achieved first position in his graduation and post-graduation and the recruitment test of the central bank in tandem.

He joined the central bank in 1976 as an assistant director.

"The country is going through a recession. He would have served the economy as a whole if we could protect him from the lethal virus," Atiur said.

He has also educated many officials of the central bank on how to frame the monetary policy.

In addition, he had a great skill on predicting future conditions of the financial sector examining the present circumstances, Atiur said.

"Kazemi was a deputy governor when I joined at the central bank as governor. And I worked with him very closely. He gathered versatile knowledge on the ways of the central bank," said Salehuddin Ahmed, another former governor.

On completion of his tenure as deputy governor, he got offers to serve in many government and autonomous entities but he declined those.

"I requested him to serve the central bank as adviser in 2008. And he did it until his death. He was also one of the designers of the country's many digital financial services," Ahmed said.