Two DPMs, 25 ministers all sworn in before king today

KUALA LUMPUR: Two deputy prime ministers and 25 members of Cabinet were sworn in before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara here today.

Also present at the presentation of Instruments of Appointment and the taking of the Oath of Office, Loyalty and Secrecy to the new Cabinet line-up was Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as well as Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani and Royal Malaysian Air Force chief General Tan Sri Mohd Asghar Khan Goriman Khan were also in attendance.

After being sworn in, the new Cabinet line-up then signed the official appointment documents, which were then attested by Chief Justice Tan Sri Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Mohd Zuki Ali.

The appointment of the deputy prime ministers and all ministers was announced yesterday by Anwar who also took the portfolio of Finance Minister.

The two deputy prime ministers - Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof - were the first to take their oath of office. Ahmad Zahid is also holding the portfolio of Rural and Regional Development Minister, while Fadillah also holds the portfolio of Plantation and Commodities.

The second group comprised Minister of Transport Anthony Loke Siew Fook, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Mohamad Sabu, Minister of Economy Mohd Rafizi Ramli, Minister of Local Government Development Nga Kor Ming, and Minister of Defence Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

The third group consisted of Home Minister Senator Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, International Trade and Industry Minister Senator Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, and Science and Technology Minister Chang Lih Kang.

The fourth group comprised Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, Minister of Law and Institutional Reform Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Datuk Ewon Benedick.

Foreign Minister Senator Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, Digital Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek and National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Anak Dagang were in the fifth group.

The sixth and last group consisted of Religious Affairs Minister Senator Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, Human Resources Minister V.N. Sivakumar, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa, and Minister in the Prime Minister Department in charge of Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali.

The new Cabinet will hold a special meeting in Putrajaya on Monday.

-- BERNAMA