New Cabinet to be sworn in on Merdeka eve

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will announce his Cabinet line-up at 11am tomorrow, with the new ministers and deputies to be sworn in on Aug 30.

Ismail was widely expected to announce his Cabinet composition today following an audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah at Istana Abdulaziz in Kuantan this morning.

During the audience, he had presented the names of his line-up to the king.

However, the Prime Minister’s Office later said that no announcement would be made today.

Ismail took his oath of office on Aug 21, replacing Muhyiddin Yassin who was ousted after a group of MPs from Umno aligned with their president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Najib Razak withdrew their support for him, causing him to lose his fragile majority.

Much of the attention has been on who Ismail will appoint as his deputy as well as who will helm the finance portfolio, with speculation swirling on whether he will maintain ministers from the previous Cabinet.