KUALA LUMPUR – Newly appointed prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim appears not to have spared much thought on holding the finance minister portfolio which he previously helmed from 1991 to 1998.
The Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman said discussions were still ongoing on the cabinet composition for his unity government, which is set to hold its first parliamentary sitting on December 19.
“We will look at all possibilities, but at the moment, I have not considered (taking up the finance minister post again),” he told reporters after performing his Friday prayers in Putrajaya, as quoted by Bloomberg.
Anwar was finance minister under the leadership of then-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad while also holding the deputy prime minister’s post.
Their relationship took a downturn in 1998, with Anwar indirectly attacking and blaming Dr Mahathir for the nation’s economic crisis at the time.
Anwar was subsequently sacked as deputy prime minister and Umno deputy president over allegations of corruption and sodomy, charges which he has consistently claimed were politically motivated.
The Tambun MP served a total of 11 years in prison before he was granted a royal pardon in 2018 after PH secured a historic general election win against Barisan Nasional, which had previously ruled uninterrupted for over five decades.
Anwar now takes over the nation at a critical juncture amid soaring inflation and a weakening ringgit.
In his first press conference after clocking in at work at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya today, the prime minister assured that the new government’s priority was to tackle the rising costs of living.
Anwar officially became Malaysia’s 10th prime minister yesterday after taking his oath of office at Istana Negara before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
The ceremony put an end to five days of political uncertainty after the national polls saw no single coalition securing a simple majority to form the government. – The Vibes, November 25, 2022
