PUTRAJAYA – The new minister of domestic trade and cost of living will be announced soon as a candidate has been identified, according to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“There is already a candidate to be appointed,” he told reporters today outside the Surau Al-Furqan in Putrajaya, after performing his Friday prayers today.
“(We will announce) as soon as possible,” he added, when asked when the person would be named.
The post has been vacant since the death of Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub on July 23.
In the interim, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali has been serving as acting minister for the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry.
Anwar previously said a new minister would be decided after the six state elections in August, but no one has been appointed up to this point.
The delay has seen opposition MPs query in Parliament as to whether there have been problems in selecting a new minister.
Salahuddin, who died aged 61, had pioneered the Payung Rahmah initiative, which provides affordable meals and daily essential items for the lower-income and hardcore poor groups. – November 24, 2023