The announced ministries are finance, foreign affairs, defence, home affairs, education, rural development, public works, transport, economy, and multimedia and science.
Speaking at a press conference, Mahathir said: “We do not want to have a huge cabinet, there are certain ministries which need to be filled immediately,” adding that he will give time to the component parties to discuss which ministry they want to lead.
Malaysia’s new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (Photo: Reuters)
Ministers in the cabinet are expected to be unveiled on May 12th. The previous government under defeated Prime Minister Najib Razak had more than 25 ministers.
Earlier, Mahathir disclosed that he plans to appoint Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, President of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People’s Justice Party), as Deputy Prime Minister, making her the first female Deputy Prime Minister of the country.
Mahathir Mohamad, 92, was officially sworn in as Prime Minister of Malaysia on May 10th, becoming the oldest government leader in the world.
According to the official results announced by the Election Committee of Malaysia, the Pakatan Harapan of Mahathir won the 14th general election by obtaining 113 of the 222 seats in the parliament’s lower house.
With this result, the Pakatan Harapan is eligible to form a new government. The result also shows that Mahathir Mohamad, who served as Malaysian Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003, is still supported by a large number of Malaysian people./.