Dr Mahathir names 14 federal ministers
THEY will take oath of office in front of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V at Istana Negara on Monday.
PM DROPS EDUCATION PORTFOLIO, GIVES IT TO DR MASZLEE MALIK DATUK SERI AZMIN ALI IS ECONOMIC AFFAIRS MINISTER
PRIME Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday announced nine federal ministers, who will form the 14-member Pakatan Harapan cabinet, all of whom have received the consent of the king.
The 13 will be taking their oath of office before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V at Istana Negara at 11.30am on Monday.
Dr Mahathir said he was granted an audience with the king at 5pm yesterday, where he presented the names of the cabinet ministers.
He would not be taking on the role of education minister as he had previously announced.
Instead, the portfolio would be helmed by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s Dr Maszlee Malik, who is also the Simpang Renggam member of parliament.
There were also no ministers from Sabah and Sarawak, as yet.
Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal had reportedly submitted a list of candidates from his party for cabinet consideration.
The latest cabinet line-up only involved distribution of portfolios among PPBM, PKR, DAP and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).
However, Dr Mahathir had previously stated that upon complete formation, the cabinet would have at least 25 members.
Apart from Dr Mahathir, who is also Langkawi member of parliament, PPBM had three other representatives in the cabinet.
Besides Maszlee (a former International Islamic University lecturer), the others are Pagoh MP Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is home minister, and PPBM Women’s chief Rina Harun, who is rural development minister.
PKR’s is led by its president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is the deputy prime minister-designate. She will also helm the Women and Family Development Ministry.
The biggest surprise was Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, who was named the economic affairs minister. Azmin had recently been sworn in as Selangor menteri besar. It remains to be seen whether he can hold the two posts simultaneously.
PKR’s other inclusion is its Women’s chief Zuraida Kamaruddin, who will assume the role of housing and local government minister.
DAP has four representatives, led by secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is finance minister-designate.
The others are Seremban MP Anthony Loke Siew Fook, who will become the transport minister; Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, who will take up the communications and multimedia minister’s post; and Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran, who is human resources minister-designate.
Amanah, meanwhile, has three ministers, led by party president Mohamad Sabu, who is defence minister-designate. Others are Pulai MP Salahuddin Ayub, who will lead the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry, as well as Kuala Selangor MP Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, who is health minister-designate.