PUTRAJAYA, Dec 13 — Umno’s Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani reached the Plantation and Commodities Ministry at exactly 1.10pm today and clocked in three minutes later to start his official duties a day after being appointed to the Cabinet in a much-anticipated reshuffle.
The 59-year-old took over the ministry from Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof who is now juggling two portfolios: Energy Transition and Public Utilities, and Sabah and Sarawak Affairs.
“Too early for me to share with you. After this there will be a briefing from the ministry.
“But what I can say is that this ministry is quite challenging, especially in today's economic situation,” he told reporters before rushing into the inner office of the ministry, looking keen to get cracking on his new job.
Johari’s deputy Datuk Chan Foong Hin also starts work in his new role today.
The DAP MP for Kota Kinabalu was formerly deputy agriculture and food security minister.
In an impromptu press conference, Johari highlighted the crucial role of palm oil and timber as part of the commodities sector, in contributing to Malaysia’s revenue.
He said those components play a significant part in shaping the nation's economic landscape.
Despite not being a revenue-generating ministry, he said the ministry also plays a role as a facilitator to streamline processes within the commodities sector.
“Commodities are one of our sources of income, and we see many components, such as palm oil, timber, and more.
“We are not a revenue-generating ministry, but we facilitate processes,” he said.
He also commended the ministry for doing well so far, basing his evaluation on past reports on the government website, which he considers very comprehensive.
Johari said that looking ahead, he wants to foster stronger ties with industry players.
The plan, he said, includes holding regular meetings to gain a deeper understanding of their concerns and challenges.
“I will try to strengthen the relationship between industry players. I will have more regular meetings with them to understand their issues. We act as facilitators for large, small, and medium-sized companies to conduct their business so that everyone can be benefited,” he said.
Johari was also asked if he is still the 1MDB task force chief on top of being a minister now.
He replied that he is for the moment.
Johari has been serving as the chairman of the task force investigating the 1MDB scandal since March.
The Umno vice-president was last in the Cabinet as second finance minister from June 2016 to May 2018 when Datuk Seri Najib Razak was prime minister.
