KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said that he will announce the names of deputy ministers in his Cabinet tonight.
According to MalayMail, Anwar is expected to have an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong first this afternoon.
“I will have an audience with the Agong this afternoon and InsyaAllah at 8.15 tonight I will announce the names of deputy ministers,” he told reporters after attending Friday prayers at Kampung Baru Jamek Mosque today.
Anwar today spent two hours in Kampung Baru, meeting the people here accompanied by Religious Minister Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar and Titiwangsa MP Datuk Johari Ghani.
It was previously reported by New Straits Times that the names of at least 35 people have been submitted as candidates for deputy ministers.
Sources said these names were from all the parties and coalitions in the unity government — Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, Parti Warisan — and other parties which are being considered.
However, they said it is still unclear if all will be accepted.
Meanwhile, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) secretary-general Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi yesterday had called for more Dayaks and Chinese from Sarawak to be appointed as deputy ministers to reflect a multiracial leadership in the unity government.
He said minority ethnic communities such as the Bidayuh, Lun Bawang, Kayan, Kenyah and Melanau, as well as the Iban, should be given the opportunity to serve in the new government.
