KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said Datuk Seri Armizan Mohd Ali will be the acting domestic trade and cost of living minister

Armizan is the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Duties), but will handle the portfolio until a permanent replacement is appointed for Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub who died last week, Anwar said.

"For now, Armizan has been given the responsibility to supervise and continue the ministry’s operations,” he told reporters after attending the closing ceremony of 2023 National Consumer Day at Pavilion Bukit Jalil here today.

Anwar also said Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Senator Fuziah Salleh will work with the ministry’s secretary-general, Datuk Azman Mohd Yusof, to continue with their ongoing initiatives.

Last Sunday, Salahuddin, the minister responsible for the Rahmah initiative, died unexpectedly at the age of 61.

Salahuddin died at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar, Kedah, after undergoing surgery for a brain haemorrhage.

The deputy president of Amanah leaves behind his wife, Fatimah Taha, four sons and two daughters.