PUTRAJAYA, Nov 27 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stressed that the appointment of Cabinet members will not be a reward for supporting the formation of his government.

He also reiterated that the three main component coalitions, namely Pakatan Harapan (PH), Barisan Nasional (BN) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), would be consulted over the appointments, while pledging to stick to his promise to reduce both Cabinet numbers and salaries.

"I want to reduce the size of the Cabinet. I don’t want to continue this extravagant manner of employing or appointing ministers as a point of reward.

"So you have 70 ministers with special envoys... of course, we can consider one or two when it is absolutely necessary, but it should not be seen as rewarding political masters in order to support me (as prime minister),” he said during a press conference after chairing a special meeting of the 2022 National Action Council on the Costing of Living here today.

He also said that the new government frontline will have to abide by anti-corruption commitments and prioritise the national economic development.

"I want them to support me based on my policies and my commitment to good governance and my commitment to anti-corruption and to resuscitate the economy,’’ he added.

Yesterday, it was reported that Anwar said the size of his Cabinet would be reduced and that he is also seeking the agreement of ministerial candidates to reduce their salaries.

Anwar was earlier reported to have said that the Cabinet would have a maximum of 25 ministers, compared to the 31 under the previous administration.