No time for honeymoon, Anwar says after first meeting with new Cabinet faces

LocalPolitics
13 Dec 2023 • 8:28 PM MYT
Daily Express
Daily Express

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Kuala Lumpur: There will be no honeymoon period for the newly ministers and deputies in the reshuffled administration, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.

Anwar said he wants them to hit the ground running and find the best solutions to the public’s problems after chairing the first Cabinet meeting with the new appointments this morning.

“I stressed each minister’s job and role in their respective ministries and also would like to thank former human resources minister V. Sivakumar for his work.

“There is no honeymoon period for any member of this Cabinet and all their efforts should be focused on solving public issues, eradicating hardcore poverty, mastering important aspects and to grow the economy for a prosperous nation,” he said in a statement here.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan shake hands during the first Cabinet meeting with the new appointments today. — Picture by Afiq Hambali/Prime Minister’s Office of Malaysia

Anwar said he had met with new faces Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, Minister of Agriculture and Commodities Datuk Seri Johari Ghani, Minister of Health Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad, Minister of Digital Gobind Singh Deo and Minister of Human Resources Steven Sim.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim greets Minister of Health Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad and Minister of Agriculture and Commodities Datuk Seri Johari Ghani during the first Cabinet meeting with the new appointments today. — Picture by Afiq Hambali/Prime Minister’s Office of Malaysia

Additionally, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who was previously the defence minister, will now helm the Foreign Ministry. Previous higher education minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin will take on the defence portfolio.

Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, who was the previous foreign minister, will now take on the Higher Education Ministry, and Dr Zaliha Mustafa will now helm the revived Federal Territories Ministry under the Prime Minister’s Department.

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