[UPDATED] Cabinet reshuffle? I don’t know what will happen, just wait: PM

KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has neither confirmed nor denied a possible cabinet reshuffle in order to ensure his administration can last until the end of the parliamentary term.

Speaking to the press today, he said Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin’s recent defection from Bersatu and resignation as plantation industries and commodities minister has nothing to do with the rumoured reshuffle.

He added that Zuraida dropped the bombshell first, saying “I don’t know what will happen after this. We will have to wait.”

Previously, speculations were rife that Ismail Sabri will be making an announcement on a cabinet reshuffle this week to bolster his position in the government.

While saying Zuraida has the right to quit Bersatu for fledgling Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM), Ismail Sabri reiterated that she still holds the portfolio as both have not met to discuss the matter.

This is because, he said, Zuraida is currently on leave and was absent from the weekly cabinet meeting today.

“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.”

Zuraida’s resignation has garnered a mixed reaction from various quarters, with several ministers and other politicians chiming in on her replacement in the cabinet. 

Last Thursday, Bersatu information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan said party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will make the call on Zuraida’s cabinet replacement, saying the person would be chosen from among party leaders.

However, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was reported as saying that the appointment of ministers is the prerogative of the prime minister and must be respected by all.

He added that it is not necessary for outside parties to pressure Ismail Sabri about it.

Sharing Khairy’s sentiments was Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican.

Reezal said the appointment and removal of ministers is the absolute prerogative of the prime minister, highlighting that it is enshrined in the federal constitution under Article 43(2)(b).

The provision stipulates that the cabinet shall be appointed such that the Agong shall on the advice of the prime minister appoint other ministers from among the members of either house of Parliament. – The Vibes, June 1, 2022