Any cabinet reshuffle involving DAP up to PM, sec-gen: Sim

Summary

• Newly minted DAP deputy secretary-general Steven Sim says any cabinet reshuffle involving the party’s members is up to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and secretary-general Anthony Loke.

• He is responding to rumours of an upcoming cabinet reshuffle after the recently concluded DAP election.

Newly minted DAP deputy secretary-general Steven Sim today said any reshuffling of cabinet posts involving the party’s members is up to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and party leader Anthony Loke.

However, the human resources minister added that Loke, who is DAP secretary-general, had earlier said that there would not be a reshuffle.

“So, we respect the authority and also the decision of the secretary-general (Loke).

“I think the rest is up to the prime minister and the secretary-general,” he told reporters after his breaking-fast event with the media in Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile, Sim said he would continue to focus on his work.

Zafrul to step down?

Sim was responding to rumours of an upcoming cabinet reshuffle following the conclusion of the recent DAP internal election.

The rumours were sparked by Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz’s imminent departure as a senator this December.

However, Zafrul told BFM that he would step down as a minister in mid-December and ruled out any possibility of a by-election to facilitate his return to Parliament and the cabinet.

Zafrul was first appointed as a senator under the Perikatan Nasional administration on March 10, 2020, and began his second term on December 3, 2022.

A senator can serve a maximum of two terms, with each term lasting three years, making the maximum six years.

Additionally, former Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming told Malaysiakini that DAP can replace M Kulasegaran and Lim Hui Ying in their government roles if the party wants to follow through with the “generational change” theme of its election.

Kulasegaran, the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (law and institutional reform), opted not to contest in the party polls to make way for younger leaders.

Meanwhile, Lim, who is deputy finance minister and Tanjong MP, lost her CEC post in the party polls on March 16.

Last Tuesday (March 18), Loke stressed that the party’s CEC election has no bearing on the positions of the party’s ministers or deputy ministers.

Other than DAP, PKR will also be holding an internal election in May.

If there is a change in PKR’s leadership structure after that, the party may also replace several of its ministers and deputy ministers.

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