Changes to the cabinet portfolio are entirely Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s prerogative, Jeli MP Mustapa Mohamed said today.
“That is the prime minister’s prerogative, I've got nothing to say about that,” he told reporters after moderating a panel at the National Economic Forum 2019 in KLCC.
Mustapa was responding to a question on whose portfolio he thinks will be swapped and whether he would be joining the cabinet.
Last Thursday, Mahathir denied there would be a cabinet reshuffle, but said there were talks on changing ministers’ portfolios.
The prime minister also refuted speculation that Mustapa, the former international trade and industries minister, would be drafted into cabinet again.
“No, there is no reshuffle. No new ministers,” he said.
On a separate matter, Mustapa also declined to comment on the cooperation between Umno and PAS, who are scheduled to commemorate their partnership with a joint charter on Sept 14.
“Reserve that for another day,” he said.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi showered praise on his PAS counterpart Abdul Hadi Awang and his delegation yesterday, saying that they make the world a better place.
After decades of bitter political enmity, Umno and PAS buried the hatchet after the last general election and formed an alliance which proved to be successful in three by-elections – Cameron Highlands, Semenyih and Rantau.
Currently, Umno and BN have 40 parliament seats and PAS 18 seats.
The last time PAS and Umno worked together was in the 1970s, when the Islamist party joined the BN government in 1972 before quitting five years later. - Mkini
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