Umno sec-gen: PM has the prerogative to appoint ministers

Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa said that it's the prerogative of newly-minted Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to appoint ministers best suited for his cabinet.

"That's the prerogative of the prime minister based on suggestions by party presidents.

"As per convention, the prime minister will discuss with party leaders first.

"That's how it is since last time. The method is that we gather the coalition, and party leaders will sit and discuss," he told reporters at PWTC today.

Earlier, Annuar was in a discussion with party president Zahid Hamidi and vice-president Ismail Sabri at PWTC.

Asked of details on the discussion, the Ketereh MP merely said they were just "hanging out".

Meanwhile, Annuar stressed that the new government has no qualms about working with previous ministers.

"We can work together. For instance, the health minister (Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad) had done a good job in handling Covid-19.

"Although he is not a minister (anymore), he can still help us. It doesn't mean that there's a cut-off (of communications) when ministers are changed.

"Moreover, Tan Sri Muhyiddin was part of the previous government," he said.

"Don't worry, I think the country is in good hands now, and we all will support him," he said.

On whether the new government will continue Pakatan Harapan's reforms agenda, Annuar said that would be the first thing that the cabinet meeting will discuss.

"I believe the first cabinet meeting will discuss (about the reforms agenda).

"What is more important is that we know the leadership style of our prime minister, which is moderate and open.

"And this is not about factions, the nation comes first," he said.

This morning, Muhyiddin was sworn-in as the eighth Prime Minister at Istana Negara following the country's political turmoil which saw the Pakatan Harapan government collapse a week ago.

After Muhyiddin, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad also claimed to have majority MPs support to back them as prime minister.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah ultimately decided on Muhyiddin as the leader likely to command majority support.

The political crisis was triggered when Bersatu, led by Muhyiddin and rogue PKR MPs led by Mohamed Azmin Ali pulled out of the coalition to form a new bloc with Umno and PAS.

This resulted in Mahathir resigning as Bersatu chairperson and prime minister, causing the cabinet to be dissolved. - Mkini