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Malaysia’s PM Anwar Ibrahim to helm finance ministry, names corruption-haunted Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as DPM
- Ahmad Zahid, a former deputy PM and key ally of jailed ex-leader Najib Razak, will be the country’s No 2 leader
- Anwar’s cabinet announcement comes 10 days after his appointment and amid intense jockeying for top positions among parties in his ‘unity government’
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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday unveiled a new cabinet that included the corruption-haunted Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as the country’s No 2 leader, indicative of compromises struck to keep the fragile administration intact.
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Anwar, 75, named himself finance minister – a position he held for seven years in the 1990s before he was plunged into political wilderness and jailed following a fallout with then leader Mahathir Mohamad.
Alongside Ahmad Zahid, Fadillah Yusof, a member of the GPS coalition from the state of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo, was also named deputy premier – keeping with Anwar’s promise to give the high-ranking positions to his two most powerful allies.
Fadillah is the country’s first deputy prime minister from Malaysian Borneo.
Ahmad Zahid will concurrently serve as Rural and Regional Development Minister, while Fadillah will also serve as Plantations and Commodities Minister.
The new cabinet, comprising 28 ministers in total, will be sworn in by the king on Saturday. The total number of ministers is lower than the 31 officials in the cabinet of Anwar’s predecessor, Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
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