REPLACING a Treasury secretary-general is not unusual, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.

He added that the replacement of Asri Hamidin as Treasury secretary-general was not as depicted by the media.

“It’s just a normal replacement, which also involves a promotion or change in department and affairs.

“The discussion about authority will be decided by the civil service led by the chief secretary to the government,” he said at a media conference after announcing the deputy ministers line-up tonight.

It was previously reported that Asri, 56, who was appointed in 2020, was ‘placed on leave’ as he was not seen during the welcoming ceremony for the prime minister, who is also the finance minister, on December 6.

Anwar had, in fact, mentioned a discussion about the position of national financial adviser with a new Treasury secretary-general in a previous media conference.

He also clarified that existing legal provisions gave the chief secretary the authority to handle the matter of secretaries-general and other senior officials from ministries that have been combined under his current administration. 

Under the current unity government cabinet, four ministries have been combined into two and one portfolio has been abolished.

The Federal Territories Ministry and the Rural Development Ministry have been combined to become the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, while the Environment and Water Ministry has been combined with the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry to become the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry.

The Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) portfolio has been abolished. – Bernama, December 9, 2022.