The Prime Minister’s Office said Mahathir had submitted the names of his Cabinet members and received the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, at Istana Negara this evening.
The appointment of Maszlee came as a surprise after Mahathir faced public criticism for having announced himself as education minister yesterday. Critics said the Pakatan Harapan manifesto had stated that the prime minister should not hold two portfolios.
These are the Cabinet members:
All members of the Cabinet will be sworn in on May 21 at Istana Negara.
On Thursday, Mahathir had named PKR deputy president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to be the women and family development minister after announcing last week that DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng would be finance minister; Amanah president Mohamad Sabu to be defence minister and PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin as home minister.
He had previously said he wanted a small cabinet of 25 members, although there might be a few more ministers from Sabah or Sarawak.