At the same time, Razaleigh was appointed Finance Minister by Hussein. At the time, Razaleigh had gotten a reputation for being an ultra nationalist due to his hard line stance in the negotiations for PETRONAS' oil rights with the Americans. The uncompromising negotiating position adopted by Razaleigh eventually led the Americans to lobby Hussein for his dismissal from his posts in PETRONAS. However, Hussein had a great relationship with Razaleigh (who not only had great grassroots influence but who also did not take a salary when he was heading PETRONAS), and so the Americans' lobbying efforts proved unsuccessful. Eventually, Razaleigh did relinquish his positions in PETRONAS as he was juggling between many different jobs which prohibited him from focusing on his main role as Finance Minister.