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Malaysia PM Mahathir's Cabinet: Who are the ministers
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad waves as he leaves after addressing his first assembly of civil servants from the Prime Minister's office in Putrajaya on May 21, 2018.PHOTO: AFP
Published
May 21, 2018, 7:00 pm SGT
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Ng Huiwen
Malaysia's 13 Cabinet ministers were sworn in on Monday (May 21), making up half of the 25-member team that Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has envisioned.
The list, first announced last Friday (May 18), was drawn from all four parties - Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Amanah Negara - in Dr Mahathir's Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.
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A Foreign Minister, however, has yet to be named.
Here are the profiles of the 13 ministers sworn in on Monday.
1. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Women and Family Development
Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, 65
PHOTO: AFP
Malaysia's first female deputy prime minister, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah has come a long way from being just a placeholder for her husband and former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.
She was the first to be invited by the King to form the government after Pakatan Harapan's May 9 victory.
2. Home Minister
Muhyiddin Yassin, 71
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
He was deputy prime minister from 2009 to 2015, and chief minister of Johor for nearly a decade from 1986 to 1995.
The PPBM president was sacked from the Malaysian Cabinet in 2015 after disagreements with then-prime minister Najib Razak over the fund misappropriation scandal at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and later dismissed as Umno's deputy president.
3. Finance Minister
Lim Guan Eng, 57
PHOTO: AFP
A fierce critic of Mr Najib, the father of four has been chief minister of Penang since 2008 and has led the Chinese-majority DAP since 2004 as secretary-general.
An accountant by training, he has been credited with Penang's transformation into a vibrant tourism and industrial hub.
4. Defence Minister
Mohamad Sabu, 63
PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
The president of Parti Amanah Negara began his political career at the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) in 1975, before joining the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) in 1981.
He held various posts in PAS, including as PAS deputy president from 2011 to 2015, before breaking away to form PAS-splinter party Amanah.
5. Education Minister
Dr Maszlee Malik, 43
PHOTO: BERITA HARIAN
Born in Johor Bahru, Dr Maszlee is a lecturer at the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia.
He contributes to a number of think tanks and is a familiar face at forums on issues relating to Islamic politics and the politics of the Middle East. He was a visiting fellow at Singapore's Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute in 2016.
6. Minister of Rural Development
Rina Harun, 44
PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
PPBM Women's chief Rina Harun has been active in the country's political arena since 2002 as Sepang Umno division Puteri chief. She has held various positions in Puteri Umno, including as an executive committee member in 2009.
7. Minister of Economic Affairs
Mohamed Azmin Ali, 53
PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Mr Azmin Ali took over as Selangor Menteri Besar in 2014 and delivered a whopping victory in the state for PH.
The deputy president of PKR has had a close relationship with Dr Mahathir, and is widely known as Mr Anwar Ibrahim's hatchetman and backroom operator.
8. Minister of Housing and Local Government
Zuraida Kamaruddin, 60
PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
The PKR Women's chief was previously associate advertising director at Saatchi & Saatchi, and national sales manager at Malaysia's Avon Cosmetics.
She is now an MP for Ampang MP, and is also the founder of WIRDA, a community service centre providing counselling and protection to women.
9. Minister of Transport
Anthony Loke Siew Fook, 41
PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Mr Loke is DAP organising secretary and MP for Seremban, Negri Sembilan. He has been an MP since 2008.
Mr Loke, who has a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Universiti Malaya, has expressed hope that the mystery into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in 2014 will be resolved soon.
10. Minister of Communications and Multimedia
Gobind Singh Deo, 44
PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
The prominent lawyer, who is an MP for Puchong in Selangor, made history as the first Sikh minister.
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He is also the national legal bureau secretary of the DAP.
He is the second son of the late Karpal Singh, who was DAP chairman when he died in 2014.
11. Minister of Human Resource
M. Kulasegaran, 60
PHOTO: FACEBOOK/KULA SEGARAN
The practising lawyer is the vice-chairman of DAP as well as Pakatan Harapan vice-president.
Most recently, he led the legal team for M. Indira Gandhi, who fought against the unilateral conversion of her three children to Islam.
He joined DAP in 1983 after being introduced by the DAP stalwart P. Patto.
12. Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry
Salahuddin Ayub, 56
PHOTO: BERITA HARIAN
The Amanah deputy president entered politics in 1983 when he joined PAS. He went on to hold several positions at the district and national levels, including as PAS Youth chief and PAS vice-president.
In 2015, he joined Amanah as there had been internal conflict among PAS members at the time.
13. Minister of Health
Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, 62
PHOTO: FACEBOOK/DR DZULKEFLY AHMAD
As a vocal political analyst, the Amanah strategic director was once arrested during a protest against the increase of oil prices in 2008.
He entered politics that year on a PAS ticket when he won in Kuala Selangor, but failed to defend his parliamentary seat in the following election. He recaptured the seat on May 9.
He graduated with a doctorate in toxicology from London's Imperial College.
Sources: The Straits Times, Bernama
