KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah said there will be a vacancy for her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the Cabinet only if Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad steps down.
She, however, has no issue with there not being any spot for the prime minister-in-waiting at this current moment as rumours of a Cabinet reshuffle abound.
“There is no vacancy, so?
“I guess (there will only be a vacancy in Cabinet) when the Prime Minister vacates the seat as promised,” The Star reported Dr Wan Azizah saying to reporters after a visit to CyberSecurity Malaysia today.
Yesterday, Dr Mahathir ended any speculation of adding Anwar into the Cabinet in the near future, saying that there are no vacancies at the moment.
Dr Mahathir was asked why Anwar was not yet given a role in the Cabinet, given the imminent transition that will see Dr Mahathir hand over his prime ministerial duties to the PKR president.
“We are not having any change or increase in the number of members in the Cabinet since nobody has indicated that they want to resign, so we have no vacancy.
“Whenever we have a vacancy, we will consider suitable candidates,” Dr Mahathir said during a press conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation.
Last week, Dr Mahathir had confirmed that the Cabinet did discuss possible changes in several ministers’ portfolios during its weekly meeting, but no reshuffle was imminent.
During the run up to the 14th general election, Pakatan Harapan had said that Anwar would be made the 8th Prime Minister, taking over Dr Mahathir after a period of two years.
This has since been called into question, with Dr Mahathir going so far as to say he will keep his promise to step down eventually, with the actual date yet to be set.
Earlier this month, Dr Mahathir reiterated that he will keep his promise to step aside for Anwar, claiming the only reason he would renege on the deal was if someone were to “put a gun” to his head.
