Malaysia’s new Cabinet: PM Anwar Ibrahim is finance minister, Zahid is DPM
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has unveiled a new Cabinet, in which he will also hold the post of finance minister while Umno chief Zahid Hamidi becomes deputy prime minister.
The leaner Cabinet comprising 28 ministers was unveiled on Friday, with appointments distributed among the top leaders of coalitions making up the unity government, namely Pakatan Harapan (PH), Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
Datuk Seri Anwar, who was sworn in as prime minister last week, said ministers should begin their duties soon and advised them to avoid wastage, bribery and abuse of power.
“I have made it clear to the Cabinet that the unity government prioritizes good governance and the need to reduce the people’s burden, as well as focuses on stimulating the economy,” he said.
For the first time in history, two deputy prime ministers were appointed, BN chairman Zahid, who is facing dozens of graft charges and was the deputy prime minister in the Najib Razak administration, and GPS’ Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, a former works minister.
Fadillah, who is the first deputy prime minister from East Malaysia, will also helm the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry.
PH allies, which have the largest bloc of MPs with 82 parliamentary seats, took the lion’s share of appointments with 15 ministers, including in key portfolios such as finance, home affairs and education.
Democratic Action Party (DAP) secretary-general Anthony Loke returned to his Transport Ministry post, which he held under the previous PH government, while Parti Amanah Negara chief Mohamad Sabu, a former defence minister, was assigned the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry.
PH secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail will be helming the Home Affairs Ministry.
Some first-time ministerial appointments from Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) included the party’s deputy president Rafizi Ramli as economic affairs minister, PKR’s first-time MP Zaliha Mustafa as health minister and women’s chief Fadhlina Sidek as education minister.
DAP’s Perak chief Nga Kor Ming will be part of the Cabinet for the first time as housing and development minister.
DAP’s Hannah Yeoh, who is a former deputy minister of women, family and community development, will be helming the youth and sports ministry.
The Umno-led BN, which has 30 lawmakers, was given six ministries. Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan will be defence minister, while Azalina Othman will be law minister.
Tengku Zafrul Aziz, who failed to win a parliamentary seat in his election debut on Nov 19, will serve as international trade and industry minister.
BN secretary-general Zambry Abdul Kadir, who also did not win a seat, will be foreign minister. The two men, together with Datuk Seri Saifuddin and Datuk Naim Mokhtar who are not MPs, will be sworn in as senators on Saturday morning.
Anwar said that Finance Ministry matters would be assisted by several advisers led by former Petronas president and chief executive Mohd Hassan Marican.
“I will be assisted by a strong team who are not only civil servants, but also a group of advisers who will not burden the government’s coffers,” he added.
The swearing-in of the ministers will take place at 3 pm on Saturday. They are also scheduled to attend a special meeting on Monday.