Khairy is Health Minister as PM unveils Cabinet sans DPM, with senior posts mostly unchanged

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced today more or less the same Cabinet line-up that made the previous administration, with allies close to him retaining most senior posts although no deputy prime minister was named.

Among the most notable, Datuk Seri Azmin Ali from Bersatu kept his post as senior minister in charge of the International Trade and Industry Ministry and Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin as home minister.

Senator Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz was also kept as finance minister.

Khairy Jamaluddin, whose short stint as science minister overlooking the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme had been both praised and criticised, is now the new health minister.

Umno’s Datuk Seri Azalina Othman, who quit as Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker, was not named for any ministerial position.

Ismail Sabri also retained Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof from Sarawak’s Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu and Bersatu’s Datuk Radzi Md Jidin in their senior ministerial positions in charge of the Works and Education ministries respectively.

However, the PM did introduce new faces to his Cabinet that were not in the previous Perikatan Nasional administration under Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Among them are Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, Tan Sri Noh Omar and Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid from Umno.

Shahidan, an influential Umno leader from Perlis, replaced Tan Sri Annuar Musa as the new Federal Territories minister. Annuar was retained in the new Cabinet, but given the Communications Ministry instead.

Selangor Umno leader Noh Omar is the new minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives while Mahdzir is the new minister of Rural Development.

Ismail Sabri also appointed Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu as  the new minister of Youth and Sports.

The prime minister had faced pressure to introduce new faces in his Cabinet amid public backlash against the Muhyiddin government’s management of the Covid-19 crisis, which debilitated the economy as well.

Today’s announcement met political pundits’ expectation that Ismail, who was deputy prime minister in the recently-dissolved government, would retain most of the same leaders to placate his party and Bersatu, whose support is crucial for Ismail to remain in power.

Both Umno and its splinter Bersatu were accorded 10 posts each.

On social media, detractors quickly criticised the announcement. Some, however, did commend Ismail for making Khairy the new health minister.