BERSATU will become the largest party bloc in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s cabinet, with 10 MPs set to take up ministerial positions and a further 13 selected for deputy minister spots.

Added to the prime minister’s seat, Bersatu has 11 portfolios. This is more than double the party’s influence when it was in Pakatan Harapan.

In the 2018 cabinet, the prime minister was a Bersatu MP, as were five ministers.

Muhyiddin’s party, which has 36 MPs, also took two out of the four senior minister positions he had made available.

Newly recruited members Mohamed Azmin Ali and Dr Radzi Jidin are both senior ministers in charge of international trade and education respectively.

The party also took the more important posts such as economy and special functions (under the Prime Minister’s Department); women, family and community development; home affairs; agriculture; rural development; communications and multimedia; and housing and local government.

Among those in Bersatu who benefited from supporting Muhyiddin were Azmin and Zuraida Kamaruddin, who were the former PKR deputy and vice presidents until two weeks ago.

Azmin is one of the four senior ministers while Zuraida will continue to head the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.

Aside from Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Rashid Hasnon, all the other seven rebel PKR MPs who followed Azmin into Bersatu were elevated.

Segamat MP Santhara Kumar was made deputy Federal Territories minister while Nibong Tebal MP Mansor Othman will be the new deputy higher education minister.

Sarawakians Ali Biju and Jonathan Yassin were made deputy ministers in energy and natural resources, and home affairs, respectively, while Sabah’s Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin was made deputy minister for primary industries.

Long time Azmin ally Kamaruddin Jaafar is the new deputy minister for foreign affairs.

Yet, the biggest reward went to former Pakatan Harapan chief secretary Saifuddin Abdullah who is now the communications and multimedia minister.

Saifuddin, who quit Umno to join PKR only to quit again for Bersatu, was the former foreign affairs minister.

The Umno MPs who jumped to Bersatu were also rewarded as Mustapa Mohamed is now a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for economy, while Hamzah Zainuddin is the new home minister.

Former deputy speaker Ronald Kiandee, who joined Bersatu from Umno last year, also earned a promotion to agriculture minister, while Abd Latiff Ahmad is now the rural development minister.

Among the original Bersatu ministers, Redzuan Yusoff and Rina Harun were retained as ministers, while Radzi Jidin was promoted to senior minister (education).

Meanwhile, Umno, which has 39 MPs, only has one senior minister and eight ministers.

Umno vice president and Bera MP Ismail Sabri Yaakob becomes minister of defence.

Umno will take responsibility for the Federal Territories, higher education, energy and natural resources, health, foreign affairs, science and technology, national unity, and youth and sports ministries.

Gabungan Parti Sarawak and its new partners PAS, who both have 18 MPs each, have four and three ministerial positions respectively.

GPS has one senior minister’s post (works), and will head domestic trade and consumer affairs, entrepreneur development, and tourism.

PAS, meanwhile, has taken legal affairs and parliament (under the Prime Minister’s Dept), environment, and primary industries.

Bersatu has 13 deputy ministers, compared to Umno’s eight and PAS’s five. GPS has four, while MCA has three.

Muhyiddin’s first cabinet, announced today, has 32 ministers and 38 deputy ministers. – March 9, 2020.