KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says he is “still thinking” about the possibility of a Cabinet reshuffle soon.
“Reshuffle? I will think about it first,” he said briefly when asked by reporters about talk of a possible Cabinet reshuffle.
He was speaking to the press after the closing ceremony of the Malaysia ICT Summit 2023 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec) yesterday.
Meanwhile, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the Cabinet meeting was focused on discussing and finding solutions to the price of rice and supply issues.
There was no discussion on the purported Cabinet reshuffle during the meeting yesterday, he said.
“I was made to understand that the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu will hold a press conference later to announce the details of several decisions made regarding the issues. Let’s wait for that,” he said in Putrajaya yesterday, Bernama reported.
The Star reported on Wednesday that discussions regarding a Cabinet reshuffle are intensifying, and insiders strongly believe that changes to the ministerial line-up are imminent, likely occurring between late September and early October.
It was also reported that there would be a Cabinet reshuffle in Anwar’s administration, with several ministers expected to be dropped after the Pelangai by-election on Oct 7.
In another development, Fahmi, who is also the Unity Government’s spokesman, said the government had no plan to reinstate the Anti-Fake News Act 2018.
“As of now, there have been no discussions on the plan to reinstate the Act, so it is a non-issue.
“Prior to this, my deputy (Teo Nie Ching) and I did mention that the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 was being reviewed, but we are not ready to bring it to Parliament as the engagement process is still ongoing,” he added.
The Anti-Fake News Act 2018 was tabled in Parliament on March 27, 2018, and was passed on April 2 of the same year.
The Act, however, was repealed on Dec 19, 2019, in line with the government’s commitment at that time to repeal oppressive laws and ensure that the media has the freedom to carry out checks and balances on the government’s administration.
On another matter, Fahmi said starting Oct 1, a special segment called Biar Betul! would be introduced and aired on Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) in a bid to counter and curb the spread of fake news and disinformation among the public.
He added that the less-than-a-minute segment would be aired after the Berita Kanta 744 slot on TV1 (7.44pm), on the Berita RTM channel, and would also be repeated on all RTM social media platforms and RTM radio channels.
