Cabinet appointments: PM decides, parties popose
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has the right to choose who is in the Cabinet, but it is "not wrong" for any group, including political organisations, to put forward suggestions on the matter.
Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said it was up to Anwar to make any decision regarding the current vacancies of two ministers, including for the positions to be filled temporarily by other ministers.
"It is up to the Prime Minister, as Cabinet matters fall under his prerogative and political authority.
"However, it is not wrong to ask or propose, like Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who asked for a ministerial seat for Umno if Tengku Zafrul (Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz) joins PKR," he told Berita Harian, yesterday.
Ahmad was asked about the prime minister's statement yesterday that there was no pressing need for a cabinet reshuffle despite the 'resignation' of two cabinet members.
Anwar said that although both Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad are currently on leave, the government remains fully functional.
Last Friday, Ahmad, who is also the deputy works minister, urged the economy minister post to be filled immediately given the upcoming tabling of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), scheduled for July.
On May 28, Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad resigned their positions in the Cabinet, as Economy Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, respectively, following their defeat in the PKR 2025 party polls.
Their departure has sparked debate over whether the vacancies would lead to a broader Cabinet reshuffle.
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