May 20, 1999
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| May 20, 1999 | atimes.com | |
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| Southeast Asia Mahathir to announce cabinet reshuffle KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will announce a minor cabinet reshuffle at a news conference Thursday. Speculation of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle has been rife over the past week and gained currency when The New Straits Times ran a front-page report saying that a number of senior ministers may be dropped. The cabinet held its weekly meeting Wednesday and it is believed that the prime minister informed the ministers of the impending changes. By the time the cabinet meeting ended and the ministers were back at their respective ministries in the afternoon, word began to circulate that the reshuffle would be announced either Wednesday or Thursday. According to the NST report, Information Minister Mohamed Rahmat may be dropped and replaced by Pahang state Chief Minister Khalil Yaakob. Khalil was also tipped to take over as the new secretary-general of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) from Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Sabbaruddin Chik. UMNO is a major component of the ruling National Front coalition. The report speculated that senior Executive Councillor Adnan Yaakob would take over as Pahang chief minister. Pandikar Amin Mulia, president of Sabah Barisan Nasional component party Akar, will be appointed minister in the prime minister's department. Meanwhile, sources said others likely to be involved in the reshuffle are Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir and Parliamentary Secretary to the Information Ministry Shafie Apdal. Kadir is tipped to be promoted to take over as culture, arts and tourism Minister should Sabbaruddin be dropped from the Cabinet. Shafie may move up as Deputy Home Minister to replace Kadir. This will be the second cabinet reshuffle since January when Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was appointed deputy prime minister and home minister and several other changes were made. (Asia Pulse/Bernama) | |||||||||
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