New minister and deputy ministers to be sworn in tomorrow

An additional minister and several deputy ministers are expected to be sworn in tomorrow, according to a Parliament source.

The source told Malaysiakini that eight senators would be sworn in at the Dewan Negara tomorrow morning.

This would be followed by the swearing in of the new minister and deputy ministers in the evening at Istana Negara.

Previously, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said the remaining vacancies in the government would be filled by senators.

It is unclear how many of the eight senators will join the government.

At present, there are at least five vacancies.

The position of Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of national unity and social well-being is vacant for now.

There are also four vacant deputy minister positions namely at the Defence Ministry, the Economic Affairs Ministry, the Housing and Local Government Ministry and at the Foreign Ministry.

Palace sources told Malaysiakini that they expect to see at least one minister and three deputy ministers at the swearing-in tomorrow but the final list has yet to be received.

It was previously speculated that the potential deputy minister candidates included DAP's Liew Chin Tong and Amanah's Husam Musa.

At present, there are 27 ministers and 23 deputy ministers. - Mkini