KUCHING: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has revealed the partial list of the federal Cabinet in a press conference held this afternoon.
He named Lim Guan Eng as the Finance Minister, Mohamad Sabu @ Mat Sabu as Defence Minister and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the Home Minister.
Dr Mahathir also revealed the members for the inaugural Council of Elders. They are Tun Daim Zainudin, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohd Hassan Marican,Tan Sri Robert Kuok and Prof Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram.
The ministers for the following ministries have yet to be revealed: Education Ministry, Rural Development Ministry, Economy Ministry, Works Ministry, Transport Ministry, Multimedia, Science and Tech Ministry, and Foreign Ministry.
Dr Mahathir explained that only three out of 10 core ministries have been filled as he has yet to sort out the candidates submitted by each of the member parties in PH namely DAP, PKR, Amanah and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.
“We have requested the four parties in the coalition to submit three names from each party for the consideration of the prime minister,” he said.
The final decision as to the candidates to helm the rest of the seven core ministries, he continued, will be made by the prime minister.
“I will not accept only three names but when necessary seek consultation with the heads of the parties. Of course there maybe overlapping and other issues which will be sorted out and decided by the prime minister,” he added.
Forming the Cabinet, Dr Mahathir emphasised, was not an easy thing simply because they were a coalition as they proceeded in accordance to the law and proper procedures.
“Apart from the ten core ministries, we already recognised the Prime Minister and the deputy prime minister (Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) as the persons named even before the election,” he elaborated.
The presidential council meeting held, he revealed, was to discuss about the position of the four top leaders (presidents) and one chairman of the member parties.
“The decision is that we will name three of the senior most ministers. We have not named the seven other ministers. We want to have a small cabinet of 25 members,” he said.
However, he assured that there will be members from Sabah and Sarawak or other organisations joining the team when the needs arise on later stage.
“We have a place for Sabah and Sarawak. We still need to find out their stand. But as far as Sabah is concerned, the Warisan party headed by Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has indicated that they fully support the prime minister and government set up by the prime minister.
“After filling in the initial 10 ministries, other appointments will follow to make up to 35 while reserving certain places for Sabah and Sarawak,” he added.
Recognising that many of the members have less or no experience in running a government, Dr Mahathir admitted the need for expertise coming from people with knowledge or previous knowledge of administration and being in the government or having held ministerial posts.
The swearing-in of the ministers of the new Cabinet will only be observed after all 10 ministers have been appointed.