KUALA LUMPUR: Perikatan Nasional has announced its new shadow cabinet but did not reveal its choice for shadow prime minister.
Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said that the new line-up was more focused keeping in line with the changes made in the last Cabinet reshuffle on Dec 12, 2023.
However, at a media conference on Thursday (Feb 8) the Bersatu secretary-general refused to divulge who the shadow prime minister would be and merely stated that the Perikatan chairman was Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was the eighth prime minister.
"The time will come when you will know who is our choice for the prime minister for Perikatan. I do not think we need to announce who is our candidate for prime minister.
“Muhyiddin is my (Bersatu) president. There is nothing wrong with him. He came down (as the eighth prime minister) because a group of Barisan Nasional MPs withdrew their support.
“Is it fair to say he stepped down? No. He still stands a chance. There is nothing wrong for me to promote him as prime minister.
“Why do we suddenly now have to say that we have someone else when he is Perikatan chairman?” asked Hamzah.
He also said that there was no conflict between component parties on the choice of prime minister as they are working fine together.
When asked about Muhyiddin’s statement during the Kemaman parliamentary by-election campaign on Nov 27 that Terengganu Mentri Besar and PAS vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar was a prime minister candidate for Perikatan, Hamzah avoided the question and instead spoke about party hierarchy.
There has been much talk recently about Ahmad Samsuri being groomed to be the next prime minister choice for Perikatan after he became an MP following his big win in Kemaman last year.
There was also talk that this had created some friction between Perikatan component parties PAS and Bersatu as they were unable to agree on who would become prime minister should they regain Putrajaya.
Hamzah also said that the MPs in the shadow cabinet were chosen based on their expertise and experience.
Below is the list of shadow ministers:
Finance (Datuk Seri Radzi Jidin), Economy (Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman), International Trade and Industry (Datuk Dr Ku Abd Rahman Bin Ku Ismail), Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (Datuk Rosol Wahid), Rural and Regional Development (Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim), Agriculture and Food Security (Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee), Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (Datuk Muslimin Yahaya), Home Affairs (Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan), Defence (Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz), Law and Institutional Reform (Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh), Sabah and Sarawak Affairs (Datuk Ali Biju) and Communications (Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan).
The shadow portfolio of higher education is helmed by Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar while education is delegated to Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah.
Others are Tourism, Art and Culture (Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsuddin), Youth and Sports (Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden), Health (Datuk Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi), Transport (Khairil Nizam Khirudin) and Foreign Affairs (Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal) and Women, Family and Community Development (Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff).
