Najib throws EC hot potato over to Muhyiddin

The Election Commission (EC) is now under the purview of the deputy prime minister after a reshuffling in the new cabinet.

Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz said that EC is no longer under the purview of the de facto law minister, a position that Nazri held in the previous cabinet.

The EC did not feature in the list of 11 agencies and government arms which fall under the new de facto law minister, Nancy Shukri.

Nazri had previously headed 19 agencies and government arms when he held this position for two terms between 2004 to 2013.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is also no longer under the purview of Nancy's position, though Nazri did not specify which Minister from the Prime Minister's Department would now be handling the MACC.

Shahidan Kassim - the former Perlis Menteri Besar who had been appointed as a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department - has been made the de facto law minister in charge of parliamentary affairs, a post Nazri had handled as well in the past.

"Next week, I will be handing over duties to Shahidan in the Parliament building," said Nazri, who had today handed over part of his duties to Nancy at the Law Affairs Division in Putrajaya.

It is noted that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) will now come directly under the purview of the prime minister.

Asked about the delay in appointing new Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) commissioners - which has been delayed since the term for the past commissioners ended on April 25 - Nazri replied that Nancy would get the matter done with consultation from the prime minister.

He earlier attended a handover ceremony in the division, where he talked fondly of his nine-year stint as a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and expressed his sadness of leaving the staff there, who he had gotten very familiar with over time.

Malaysiakini