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Key Highlights
Cabinet reshuffled
'Non-Malay PM' uproar
Civil service 'scandal'
Cabinet reshuffled
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has reshuffled his cabinet, just three weeks after his first anniversary in office.
The reshuffle saw V Sivakumar dropped from the line-up entirely, while several ministers changed portfolios or had their ministries split up.
Anwar now has outgoing EPF chairperson Amir Hamzah Azizan as the Second Finance Minister, while Gobind Singh Deo, Dzulkefly Ahmad, and Johari Abdul Ghani were also roped back in as ministers.
The number of ministers rose by three from 28 to 31, and deputy ministers increased from 27 to 29.
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'Non-Malay PM' uproar
Police are investigating DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang for saying that non-Malays can become prime minister.
Reportedly, the remarks were deemed to be provocative.
This is despite the Federal Constitution not placing any race requirement for someone to become prime minister.
Under the Federal Constitution, the only requirement for someone to be prime minister, as per Article 43(2)(a), is that the premier be an MP, who in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s judgement has majority support.
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Civil service 'scandal'
Government agencies have issued notices warning civil servants against having "scandals".
Scandal in this context refers to the Malay slang word for extra-marital affairs.
It is unclear why the notice was issued, but the warnings stated that those caught were subject to disciplinary action, and persecution under criminal law (for enticing married women) and syariah law (for Muslim offenders).
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Views that matter
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Other news that matter
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The government is amending legislation that would see harsher penalties for offences involving Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA).
Consumers can save up to RM400 in rebates for the purchase of air conditioners and refrigerators with the Energy Commission’s four or five-star labels under the Save 4.0 programme.
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