Malaysia PM announces new cabinet

Singapore, Mar 18: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today announced a new cabinet of 27 ministers, trimmed down from 32 ministers in the previous government following the reverses in the March 8 general elections.

The elections gave the fragmented Malaysian opposition one-third seats in parliament, a first time in the country's 51 years of history. These elections reduced the ruling government's two-third majority to simple majority, from 32 to 27 seats, of which more than half featured new faces. Mr Badawi retained the Finance portfolio but scrapped the post of parliamentary secretary.

A number of former Malaysian heavyweight ministers, who managed to win parliamentary seats, were dropped from the cabinet, including the Minister for Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz and Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheik Ahmad.

Mr Badawi retained his deputy, Najib Razak, as the defence minister, while Former Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar would be heading the merged Home Affairs and Internal Security Ministries.

Mohd Najib Abdul Razak has been declared the Deputy Prime Minister.

Bernard Giluk Dompok, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Mohd Zaid Ibrahim, Amirsham Abdul Aziz, Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz will be the ministers, while Johari Baharum, Mashitah Ibrahim, S K Devamany, Hasan Malek will be Deputy Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department.

Mustapa Mohamed has been given the ministry of Agriculture&Agro-Based Industry, Mohd Shafie Apdal has been declared Unity, Culture, Arts&Heritage Minister.

Education ministry would be headed by Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Domestic Trade&Consumer Affairs ministry by Shahrir Abdul Samad and Foreign Affairs ministry by Rais Yatim.

Liow Tiong Lai will be the Health minister and Khaled Nordin will head the ministry of Higher Education.

Other ministers will be S Subramaniam (Human Resources), Ahmad Shabery Cheek( Ministry of Information), Syed Hamid Syed Jaafar Albar ( Internal Security and Home Affairs), Muhyiddin Yassin ( International Trade&Industry), Shaziman Abu Mansor ( Energy, Water&Communications), Noh Omar ( Entrepreneur&Co-operative Development), Zulhasnan Rafique ( Federal Territories), Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas ( Natural Resources&Environment) Peter Chin Fah Kui ( Plantation Industries&Commodities) Muhammad Muhammad Taib ( Rural&Regional Development), Azalina Othman Said (Tourism), Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili (Science, Technology&Innovations), Ong Tee Keat( Transport), Ng Yen Yen ( Women, Family&Community Development ministry), Ng Yen Yen ( Works), Ismail Sabri Yaakob ( Youth&Sports).

UNI