The Shadow Cabinet of Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was established on 26 September 2018. The purpose of this Shadow Cabinet is to provide a check and balance role for Mahathir Mohamad's Pakatan Harapan coalition, which formed a government (with the confidence and supply of WARISAN and UPKO) on 10 May 2018.

History Barisan Nasional (BN), under the second-term leadership of then UMNO president Najib Razak, was defeated in the 14th General Election and became the Opposition in the Parliament for the first time in Malaysian history. Rembau Member of Parliament (MP) Khairy Jamaluddin promised a shadow cabinet if he was elected UMNO president. He made such a promise to demonstrate the ability of BN to be a formidable opposition in the Parliament. But the majority of UMNO divisions elected former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as president. He was later formalised by the Parliament as Leader of the Opposition replacing current Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Khairy continued to call for the establishment of a shadow cabinet from Zahid despite being defeated in the UMNO presidential election. Khairy had even claimed that BN has established a shadow cabinet and its MPs were given portfolios, which was confirmed by UMNO secretary-general, Ketereh MP Annuar Musa, on 26 July. However, this claim was dismissed by Zahid on 4 August.

In previous parliamentary terms, Malaysia has never had a shadow cabinet. Then Pakatan Rakyat leader Anwar Ibrahim appointed a Frontbench Committee in the 12th Parliament, and DAP appointed spokespersons among MPs in the 13th Parliament, but never a full shadow cabinet.

Details <onlyinclude> Barisan Nasional (BN), as the largest opposition coalition in the Parliament, established a Shadow Cabinet on 26 September 2018. Each portfolio established in this Shadow Cabinet will also be comprising three professionals connected to their fields, including Women and Youth members, who will be elected at a later date.

This Shadow Cabinet is the first-ever to be formed in the history of Malaysia, by the largest opposition coalition of Barisan Nasional consisting of UMNO, MIC and MCA. This Shadow Cabinet is led by Leader of the Opposition Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and applies the Portfolio Committee system. The sole Member of Parliament (MP) from the PBRS is the only other representative even though UMNO Secretary-General Annuar Musa has encouraged MPs from the Sarawak Parties Alliance, Malaysian Islamic Party and United Alliance (Sabah) to join the committee.

The only portfolio from the actual Cabinet of Malaysia not to have a counterpart in this Shadow Cabinet is National Unity and Social Well-being.

As of 14 December 2018, the Shadow Cabinet consists of the 38 following opposition MPs:

(36) (1) (1)

Cluster 1: Prime Minister's Office, Law, Human Resources and Security PortfolioLeaderPartyConstituencyDeputy LeaderPartyConstituencyPrime Minister's DepartmentAhmad Zahid Hamidi(Leader of the Opposition)UMNOBagan Datok Ismail Sabri YaakobUMNOBeraTengku Razaleigh HamzahUMNOGua Musang Home AffairsDr. Shahidan KassimUMNOArauDr. Adham BabaUMNOTenggaraDefenceHishammuddin HusseinUMNOSembrongVacantKudat MP, Abd Rahim Bakri (UMNO) left the party on 12 December 2018 and became an independent; and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet.Libaran MP, Zakaria Mohd. Edris (UMNO) left the party on 12 December 2018 and became an independent; and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet.Human ResourcesDr. Ismail Abdul MuttalibUMNOMaranVacantForeign AffairsReezal Merican Naina MericanUMNOKepala BatasVacantLawAzalina Othman SaidUMNOPengerangVacantBeluran MP, Dr. Ronald Kiandee (UMNO) left the party on 12 December 2018 and became an independent; and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet.

Cluster 2: Finance, the Economy and Industry PortfolioLeaderPartyConstituencyDeputy LeaderPartyConstituencyFinanceKhairy Jamaluddin Abu BakarUMNORembauVacantPensiangan MP, Arthur Joseph Kurup (PBRS), together with other six (6) Sabah UMNO MP had officially left Barisan Nasional on 12 December 2018; and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet.Economic AffairsHasan ArifinUMNORompinVacant Entrepreneurship DevelopmentAbdul Azeez Abdul RahimUMNOBalingAhmad Nazlan IdrisUMNOJerantutDomestic Trade and Consumer AffairsVacantLarut MP, Hamzah Zainudin left the party on 14 December 2018 and became an independent; and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet.VacantTanah Merah MP, Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (UMNO) left the party on 14 December 2018 and became an independent; and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet.Primary IndustriesVacantCameron Highlands MP, Sivarajjh Chandran (MIC) was nullified by Election Courts his victory of 2018 General Election in Cameron Highlands on 30 November 2018, which later his seat was declared as VACANT, for the offence of bribery, vote-buying and corrupt practices committed to induce voters; and therefore, disqualified automatically from the Shadow Cabinet.Mastura Mohd. YazidUMNOKuala Kangsar International Trade and IndustryAhmad MaslanUMNOPontianDr. Ismail Mohamed SaidUMNOKuala Krau

Cluster 3: Education, Social and Culture PortfolioLeaderPartyConstituencyDeputy LeaderPartyConstituency Rural DevelopmentAnnuar MusaUMNOKeterehAhmad Jazlan YaakubUMNOMachang EducationMahdzir KhalidUMNOPadang TerapIdris JusohUMNOBesutWomen, Family and Community DevelopmentDr. Noraini AhmadUMNOParit SulongVacantBeaufort MP, Azizah Mohd. Dun (UMNO) left the party on 12 December 2018 and became an independent; and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet. Housing and Local GovernmentNoh OmarUMNOTanjong KarangHalimah Mohd. SadiqueUMNOKota Tinggi Youth and SportsMohd. Shahar AbdullahUMNOPaya BesarVacantSipitang MP, Yamani Hafez Musa (UMNO) left the party on 12 December 2018 and became an independent; and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet. Tourism, Art and CultureMohamed Nazri Abdul AzizUMNOPadang RengasJalaluddin AliasUMNOJelebu Religious AffairsVacantTasek Gelugor MP, Shabudin Yahaya (UMNO) left the party on 14 December 2018 and became an independent; and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet.Zahidi Zainul AbidinUMNOPadang Besar

Cluster 4: Infrastructure, Technology and Health PortfolioLeaderPartyConstituencyDeputy LeaderPartyConstituency TransportIr. Dr. Wee Ka SiongMCAAyer HitamMohd. Salim ShariffUMNOJempol Communication and MultimediaDr. Shamsul Anuar NasarahUMNOLenggongVacantAgriculture and Agro-based IndustryTajuddin Abd. RahmanUMNOPasir SalakVacantSabak Bernam MP, Mohamad Fasiah Mohd. Fakeh (UMNO) left the party on 14 December 2018 and became an independent; and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet.HealthVacantMersing MP, Dr. Abd. Latiff Ahmad (UMNO) left the party on 14 December 2018 and became an independent; and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet.VacantHulu Terengganu MP, Rosol Wahid (UMNO) left the party on 14 December 2018 and became an independent; and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet. Water, Land and Natural ResourcesBung Moktar RadinUMNOKinabatanganMohd. Nizar ZakariaUMNOParit Public WorksSaravanan MuruganMICTapahAbdul Rahman MohamadUMNOLipis Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and EnvironmentAhmad HamzahUMNOJasinHasbullah OsmanUMNOGerikFederal TerritoriesTengku Adnan Tengku MansorUMNOPutrajayaVacantLabuan MP Rozman Isli (UMNO) switched allegiance to WARISAN on 11 October 2018 and therefore, exited the Shadow Cabinet.

Changes

See also Seventh Mahathir cabinet Cabinet of Malaysia Shadow Cabinet of Malaysia

References