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Malaysia's Anwar Unveils His Cabinet, Will Double As Finance Minister

ASIA

Malaysia's Prime Minister has announced the line-up of his Cabinet, noting that he will take on the Finance portfolio, the first Malaysian head of government to do so since Najib Razak. The decision contradicts earlier speculation that Zafrul Aziz could return as Finance Minister as Anwar taps him to take on International Trade and Industry portfolio.

  • Anwar justified his decision to appoint himself as Finance Minister by the need to restore confidence in the economy as he faces the challenge of drafting and tabling a new Budget 2023.
  • The Premier noted that the new ministers will be sworn in tomorrow at 3pm local time. They will hold a special meeting on Monday, with Anwar set to outline his "new rules" for the Cabinet.
  • The table below sums up some of the most closely watched appointments, with the full list of nominations available here.

Table 1. Selected Appointments To Anwar Ibrahim's Cabinet

NamePortfolioPartyCoalition

Anwar Ibrahim

Prime Minister

Minister of Finance

PKR

Pakatan Harapan

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi

Deputy Prime Minister

UMNO

Barisan Nasional

Fadillah Yusof

Deputy Prime Minister

Plantations and Commodities Minister

PBB

Gabungan Parti Sarawak

Tengku Zafrul

Minister of International Trade and Industry

UMNO

Barisan Nasional

Mohamad Hasan (Tok Mat)

Minister of Defence

UMNO

Barisan Nasional

Anthony Loke

Minister of Transport

DAP

Pakatan Harapan

Rafizi Ramli

Minister of Economy

PKR

Pakatan Harapan

Saifuddin Nasution Ismail

Minister of Home Affairs

PKR

Pakatan Harapan

Mohamed Khaled Nordin

Minister of Higher Education

UMNO

Barisan Nasional

Salahuddin Ayub

Minister of Domestic Trade

AMANAH

Pakatan Harapan

Zambry Abdul Kadir

Minister of Foreign Affairs

UMNO

Barisan Nasional

Fahmi Fadzil

Minister of Communications

PKR

Pakatan Harapan

Mohamad Sabu

Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries

AMANAH

Pakatan Harapan

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