Several parties in the unity government also ended up empty-handed yet again.

The shakeup saw seven new ministers appointed, three taking on new portfolios, seven deputy ministers swapping roles, nine new deputy ministers appointed, and two ministers and one deputy minister dropped.

This makes it a more extensive reshaping of Anwar’s team compared with the previous reshuffle in December 2023. He took office in November 2022.

FMT takes a look at who the biggest winners and losers are:

Winner – PKR

PKR, of which Anwar is president, is the clear winner. Four of its leaders have been elevated to full ministerial positions, and several others have been included as deputy ministers.

This in spite of months of internal bickering during and after the party elections in May which culminated in the resignations of Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad as ministers after failing to retain their party leadership posts.

PKR vice-president R Ramanan is the new human resources minister, Sabah PKR chief Mustapha Sakmud is in charge of Sabah and Sarawak affairs, PKR vice youth chief Dr Taufiq Johari is youth and sports minister, and central leadership council member Akmal Nasir replaces Rafizi as economy minister.

Their additions mean that PKR now has nine ministers in the Cabinet. It had eight prior to the reshuffle, not including Tengku Zafrul Aziz who left Umno to join PKR in August.

Tengku Zafrul served as investment, trade and industry (Miti) minister until his second term as senator ended on Dec 2.

The new deputy ministers from PKR include R Yuneswaran (national unity), Chiew Choon Man (tourism, arts and culture), Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh (natural resources and environmental sustainability), and Sim Tze Tzin (Miti).

Loser – DAP

Already bruised by a disastrous outing at the Sabah state election, the DAP saw its influence in the federal government blunted.

Two of its ministers have been reassigned to “less important” portfolios.

Hannah Yeoh takes over as the federal territories minister following a turbulent period at the youth and sports ministry during which Fifa slapped sanctions on the Football Association of Malaysia and seven naturalised foreign players over allegations of forgery.

Rather than presiding over her own ministry, she now serves in the Prime Minister’s Department. She will also be confronted with new challenges, including the proposed Urban Renewal Act that will affect Kuala Lumpur’s development, and her party’s push to bring back local council elections, both of which are said to have a big impact on the Malays.

The party’s deputy secretary-general Steven Sim has been moved from human resources to entrepreneur and cooperatives development in what appears to be a demotion in terms of national prominence.

But there is some consolation for the DAP too, with the appointment of its Mas Gading MP Mordi Bimol as deputy youth and sports minister.

Its national strategic director Liew Chin Tong will now serve as deputy finance minister, taking over the position from Lim Hui Ying, who has now been reassigned to the women, family and community development ministry. Liew was previously a deputy at Miti.

Winners – Umno and PBRS

Umno regained the Miti portfolio through one of its vice-presidents Johari Ghani, while its Wanita chief Noraini Ahmad has been promoted to plantation and commodities minister from her previous role as deputy minister of women, family and community development.

This is a significant gain for the party. The Miti portfolio landed on PKR’s lap briefly when Tengku Zafrul switched parties.

Umno also made a gain with the return of Paya Besar MP Shahar Abdullah to the government. He is now the deputy economy minister.

Umno’s other ministers and deputy ministers have retained their positions.

Fellow Barisan Nasional (BN) component party Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) also received a big boost with the appointment of its president Arthur Joseph Kurup as natural resources and environmental sustainability minister.

This is despite the fact that it has only one parliamentary seat and one state seat to its name, both of which are held by Kurup.

Losers – MCA and MIC

This Cabinet reshuffle is yet another blow for the MCA and MIC. Both parties, which are in the midst of re-assessing their future in BN and the unity government, have been left with nothing again.

There had been speculation that MIC deputy president and Tapah MP M Saravanan could be roped in, but this did not materialise.

PBRS being awarded a Cabinet post undoubtedly rubs salt in the wounds of these two BN stalwarts, given the fact that the Sabah component party had deserted BN briefly following the 2018 general election before rejoining in 2020.

Losers – Zaliha and Na’im

Dr Zaliha Mustafa and Na’im Mokhtar are perhaps the biggest casualties in the Cabinet reshuffle. Both served as ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department until the reshuffle — Zaliha overseeing the federal territories and Na’im in charge of religious affairs.

In the previous Cabinet reshuffle, she was made health minister.

Her exit comes amid public scrutiny over her handling of redevelopment issues in Kampung Baru, as well as her role in jailed former prime minister Najib Razak’s plea for a pardon. She was a member of the Federal Territories Pardons Board.

On the other hand, Na’im’s removal comes somewhat as a surprise since the former shariah court chief judge had only been sworn in for a second term as senator just two weeks ago.

As religious affairs minister, he was widely seen as an apolitical appointee but had drawn criticism from civil society groups over his hardline remarks on morality and issues involving the LGBTQ community.