PUTRAJAYA, Oct 3 — The Cabinet reshuffle will not be discussed in tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He also urged all parties not to speculate about the Cabinet reshuffle, because it is Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s prerogative.
“The (Cabinet reshuffle) has never and will never be brought up in a Cabinet meeting. That is the prerogative of the prime minister.
“No prime minister will discuss who to drop or who they will appoint in a Cabinet meeting,” he told the media, after chairing the Malaysia Halal Industry Development Council meeting, here today.
On Sunday, Ahmad Zahid said that a Cabinet reshuffle would take place in the near future, and one of the reasons was the vacancy in the position of Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, following the death of its incumbent, Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, on July 23.
Commenting on a portal’s report that Anwar will announce the new Cabinet line-up tomorrow after the meeting, Ahmad Zahid said that he believed that Anwar would inform him first, before the Cabinet reshuffle was announced.
“The prime minister, in several interviews, mentioned that the component parties in the unity government will be consulted first, or at least informed (about the Cabinet reshuffle).
“As of 5pm today, there has been no sign that the prime minister will call me, as the president of Umno and the chairman of Barisan Nasional (BN), about the matter,” said the minister of rural and regional development.
In another development, Ahmad Zahid hinted that BN will field a candidate in the Kemaman parliamentary seat by-election, following PAS’ decision not to file an appeal against the decision of the Kuala Terengganu Election Court, which annulled the victory of its candidate, Che Alias Hamid.
Although there is a slim chance of victory in the seat, Ahmad Zahid said that, as a dignified coalition, BN will try its luck to reduce the majority obtained by PAS in the 15th General Election (GE15).
“The majority obtained by the former Member of Parliament previously was more than 27,000. As a dignified coalition, despite the slim potential, even (the prospect of) reducing the majority is good enough,” he said.
On September 26, the Terengganu Election Court allowed the BN petition filed against Che Alias, thus nullifying PAS’ victory in the Kemaman parliamentary seat in GE15 on November 19 last year.
In GE15, Che Alias won the Kemaman parliamentary seat, with a majority of 27,179 votes, after garnering 65,714 votes.
He defeated BN candidate, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said, who obtained 38,535 votes, Rosli Ab Ghani (Pejuang) and Hasuni Sudin (Pakatan Harapan) who secured 506 and 8,340 votes respectively. — Bernama
