[UPDATED] No date set yet for meeting with Zuraida, says Ismail Sabri

KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin is still a cabinet member as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has yet to meet her.

He told reporters today after a World Environmental Day event at Taman Tugu here that no appointment date between the two has been set to discuss her resignation on May 26 as plantation industries and commodities minister.

She has since returned to Malaysia on Thursday night after completing ministerial duties overseas.

When met at the airport, Zuraida said she will meet the prime minister soon to discuss her cabinet position, and would hold a press conference next week once the issue was resolved.

“Today is Thursday, (then) Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You all rest first and I will rest too. Then I will do the PC (press conference),” she told reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on her return from Turkey.

About 100 supporters were at the airport to receive her and a video of them singing Que Sera, Sera with her was widely shared.

The clip was uploaded on Twitter on the official account of Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) with the accompanying text hailing her as “Ibu Bangsa Malaysia” (Mother of the Malaysian People).

Zuraida, who is Ampang MP, quit Bersatu to join fledgling PBM at the same time. It is unclear yet what role she will play or what position she will hold in her new party, but she sees her participation as helping to fill the void of female leadership in the country.

Earlier this week at the Barisan Nasional convention, Ismail Sabri neither confirmed nor denied a possible cabinet reshuffle but said Zuraida’s resignation had nothing to do with the rumoured reshuffle.

“She only resigned from Bersatu, not the cabinet. God willing, once she has met me and we have discussed the matter, I will then decide.”

Speculations are rife that Ismail Sabri will be making an announcement on a cabinet reshuffle this week to bolster his position in the government.

However, Bersatu laid claim to her cabinet post soon after her resignation, with information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan reiterating yesterday that it was the prime minister’s prerogative to pick a replacement, but since it was held by a former Bersatu leader, it is best to allow party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to propose a substitute.

There is talk that Wan Saiful is one of four candidates in the running to replace Zuraida in the cabinet.

Rumours of Zuraida joining PBM have been circulating for months, since the party was formed last November.

Speculation grew when some 50,000 members of non-governmental organisation Penggerak Komuniti Negara, which is linked to her, joined the party in December, although she had on multiple occasions brushed aside the rumours.

Zuraida was one of the 11 MPs led by Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali to quit PKR and Pakatan Harapan during the infamous Sheraton Move in February 2020 that led to the collapse of the then government.

Zuraida had served as housing and local government minister under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin, before being reshuffled under Ismail Sabri’s administration.

She has been Ampang MP since making her parliamentary electoral debut in 2008, holding the seat for three consecutive terms. – The Vibes, June 5, 2022