Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak is expected to announce a cabinet reshuffle next Monday.

Newly-appointed ministers and deputy ministers are expected to be sworn in the following day, reported Sin Chew Daily today.

The paper quoted sources saying the PM will announce the cabinet reshuffle during Ramadan, which is considered unprecedented.

It is believed this is to ride on BN's victory in the recent by-elections and increase morale in its component parties.

The coming cabinet reshuffle is expected to fill vacant spots for three ministers and two deputy ministers.

These include two ministers in the Prime Minister's Department, one each in the Performance Management Unit (Pemandu) and economic planning unit (EPU) portfolios, the vacant plantation industries and commodities minister's and deputy minister's posts, as well as the domestic trade and consumer affairs deputy minister's spot.

The former plantation, industries and commodities minister Douglas Uggah Embas left to assume the office of Sarawak deputy chief minister after the recently concluded May 7 state polls.

His deputy minister, the late Noriah Kasnon, perished in an air crash during the election campaigning.

Meanwhile the domestic trade and consumer affairs deputy minister post was vacated when Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah left to take up the Kedah MB post in February.

The two minister in the Prime Minister's Department posts now vacant were once held by corporate figures turned senators Abdul Wahid Omar and Idris Jala, who have since left the cabinet.

Abdul Wahid left his EPU portfolio to return to the corporate world, though he apparently now drives for ride-sharing service Uber in the interim, while Idris is concentrating on his post as Pemandu chief executive officer.