Ismail vows downsized Cabinet if BN wins election

Barisan Nasional (BN) needs to focus on achieving victory in the 15th general election (GE15) before thinking about the new Cabinet line-up, says Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The prime minister however said he would ensure that it is a smaller Cabinet than the present one by combining several ministries.

"So we have to win first. If we don't win, I won't even become prime minister. BN must win first... after BN wins, Insha Allah, I will take into account all interests, there must be technocrats, there must be politicians.

"I'm just giving assurance that I will downsize my Cabinet because the current Cabinet is too big. This is my promise but I will decide who are the Cabinet ministers," he told reporters in Kuala Selangor last night. 

Also present was Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, who is the BN candidate for the Kuala Selangor Parliamentary seat.
 
On claims by Perikatan Nasional (PN) that BN had copied its manifesto about providing citizenship for children born overseas to Malaysian women, Ismail said BN could say the same thing about PN. 

Ismail also said he was confident that Zafrul could win the Kuala Selangor seat in this election.
 
"I’m surprised by the response and I believe what I see tonight will be translated into votes for Zafrul.

"I believe those who came tonight are showing their support for Zafrul, and I’m confident he can win in Kuala Selangor. 

"Insha Allah, if Zafrul wins, he will be in the Cabinet. Kuala Selangor is fortunate to have such a great candidate. I hope we can all make Zafrul the Kuala Selangor MP," he said.