KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 — Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that he was surprised by the sudden change in his portfolio following a Cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today.
According to news portal Malaysia Gazette, he refrained from making any comments to the media regarding his newly appointed position as the defence minister.
“I don’t want to talk about the change in portfolios because I’m still surprised,” Khaled was quoted as saying after attending a memorandum of understanding signing session with Malaysian Academic Consortium Sdn Bhd.
Earlier, Anwar officially announced the reshuffling of Khaled’s responsibilities, moving him from higher education minister to defence minister.
Previous foreign affairs minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir will take on the higher education portfolio.
The Cabinet reshuffle resulted in an increase in the number of ministers from 28 to 31, and the number of deputy ministers expanded from 27 to 29. This adjustment brings the total number of Cabinet members to 60.
