KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 12): The appointment of a non-politician as the minister of finance II is to ensure that the ministry is focused on the economy and unaffected by political pressures, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Speaking at a press conference after announcing the new Cabinet and deputy minister line-up, Anwar, who retained his position as minister of finance, said that Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan has shown his competence when helming the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

Amir Hamzah was appointed as Dewan Negara senator on Tuesday morning to pave the way for his first ministerial position, confirming a report by The Edge on Monday that he was the man tipped for the job. Prior to his appointment, he was executive officer at the EPF, a post he held since March 2021.

“My personal view, and I think I have built this general consensus, is that the Ministry of Finance (MOF), other than being headed by me, must have a strong professional team to ensure we are on the right track and focused on the economy, and not to be sidelined or deflected by political pressures.

“He has shown enough competence and ability, and has managed the affairs of the EPF in an impressive and satisfactory manner,” Anwar said, when asked about Amir Hamzah’s appointment.

Other changes in MOF included the appointment of Lim Hui Ying, sister of former finance minister Lim Guan Eng, as the new deputy finance minister.

Of the two prior deputies, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan is now serving as deputy works minister while Steven Sim has been promoted to Cabinet as minister of human resources.

With the latest changes, the number of Cabinet ministers has risen to 31, from 28, and the number of deputy ministers has increased to 29, from 27.

In terms of political parties, DAP of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Umno of Barisan Nasional (BN) each have one additional Cabinet position, bringing PH's total to five and BN's total to seven, while PKR now has six deputy ministers, from five.

Meanwhile, Anwar said he does not see further changes in the line-up if the performance is good and if there are no further pressures or new issues.

“I hope if the performance is good and satisfactory, jika tidak ada tekanan-tekanan (if there is no pressure), or emergence [of] new issues such as digital, I don’t think there will be a need for more changes for the next four years until the next election,” he said.

The changes in the Cabinet line-up as well as deputy ministers in the unity government were done in order to address current demands, said Anwar.

This includes issues around cost of living, international acceptance, higher education matters, as well as digital transformation, the PM said.

Including Amir Hamzah and Sim, the new Cabinet line-up sees five new appointments, with the other three having served as ministers before.

This includes Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, who is back as minister of health; Gobind Singh Deo, who returns as minister of digital; and former minister of finance II Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, who is now minister of plantation and commodities. 

With the Cabinet reshuffle, five new deputy ministers were appointed, including two who have served as minister before. They are: Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad, who is now deputy women, family and community development minister; M Kulasegaran, who is the new deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms).

Datuk Ramanan Ramakrishnan, who won the Sungai Buloh seat for PKR in the 15th general election (GE15), has been appointed as deputy minister of entrepreneur development and cooperatives, while the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) sees the appointment of non-politician and newly minted senator, Dr Zulkifli Hasan, as deputy minister.

Three names were dropped, namely V Sivakumar (previously human resource minister), Ramkarpal Singh (previously deputy law minister), and Datuk Siti Aminah Aching (previously deputy plantations and commodities minister).

Read also:
Anwar announces a dozen Cabinet line-up changes, with two ministry portfolio splits
EPF CEO Amir Hamzah appointed as finance minister II in Cabinet reshuffle
EPF: New CEO will be announced in due course
One more minister doesn't make DAP the biggest winner in Cabinet reshuffle, says Loke
PM confirms new Cabinet line-up to be announced today
PM set to announce Cabinet reshuffle tomorrow, EPF CEO tipped to be finance minister II — sources