Azmin said Mahathir delegated tasks, which was why some agencies had been moved to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

“He delegates tasks to other ministries and we work as a team,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

Azmin said Mahathir was providing proper leadership to members of the Cabinet as most of them were new, adding that they “need Mahathir to continue to lead us for many years” in the future.

Earlier today, economist Edmund Terence Gomez presented a report on government-linked companies (GLCs) prepared by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), saying the number of GLCs under the finance ministry had reduced significantly after many were moved to PMO.

He said the economic affairs, rural development, and entrepreneur development ministries, which were led by “ministers allied to Mahathir”, had been critical in ensuring the prime minister’s grip on the corporate sector.

The ministries are led by Azmin, Rina Harun and Redzuan Yusof, respectively.

Azmin denied the findings of the report, saying the decision to restructure ministries was discussed and approved by the Cabinet.

On the formation of the economic affairs ministry, he said it used to be a unit of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) “but we thought that with challenges and the need to focus on economic issues, a new ministry was necessary”.

“It is not about me having allies in PPBM or with other personalities. I’m here to serve the rakyat and work together with the Cabinet and prime minister to rebuild the economy,” Azmin said.