PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim has reminded all cabinet members that there is no honeymoon period, and they must continue to carry out their duties to address issues affecting the people.

He said cabinet members and the government are also required to eradicate hardcore poverty, master key areas, drive economic growth, and ensure the prosperity of the country.

Anwar said these were among the points conveyed during the first meeting of the new cabinet this morning.

“In this meeting, I emphasised the new responsibilities of each ministry. The meeting also expressed appreciation to former human resources minister V. Sivakumar for his contributions.

“I also emphasised that the focus and priorities must now be more directed and swift in translating the aspirations of the people,” he said in a Facebook post. 

In attendance were new appointees – Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan, Plantation and Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani, Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, and Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.

Yesterday, Anwar announced a cabinet reshuffle, which saw the appointment of five new faces to ministerial and deputy ministerial positions.

The reshuffle and restructuring of ministries involved the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry, which is now split into the Energy Transition and Public Utilities Ministry and the Natural Resources and Sustainability Ministry.

The Communications and Digital Ministry was also divided into the Digital Ministry and the Communications Ministry.

The reshuffle increased the number of cabinet members from 28 to 31, while deputy ministers increased from 27 to 29, bringing the total number of members in the  administration to 60. – Bernama, December 13, 2023.