Anwar Sees No Urgency to Revamp Cabinet, Says Still Mulling

Kok Leong Chan
·1 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he sees no pressing need to reshuffle his cabinet, after local media said discussions for a change were intensifying.

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“There is no urgency to do it as there’s only one empty spot and I have asked the deputies to watch the ministry,” Anwar told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, when asked if he would rejig his cabinet. The prime minister said he’s still thinking about it, repeating a statement he made on Sept. 27.

The leadership post at the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living has been vacant after Minister Salahuddin Ayub’s death in July. Another cabinet minister, Armizan Mohd Ali, has assumed his duties, according to Bernama.

“There are issues with prices of certain goods such as rice and onions and these are important. But we are handling it,” Anwar said, adding that the ministry is doing fine.

Anwar came to power in November last year after a hung parliament, and named himself finance minister. Talks about a cabinet reshuffles comes weeks before he unveils on Oct. 13 the 2024 spending plan that must reconcile the nation’s limited fiscal space with its ambitions to become a high-income nation within five years.

--With assistance from Anisah Shukry.

(Updates with more details throughout from Anwar.)

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