Cabinet of Malaysia


The Cabinet of Malaysia is the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia. Led by the Prime Minister, the cabinet is a council of ministers who are accountable collectively to the Parliament. According to the Article 43 of the Constitution, members of the Cabinet can only be selected from members of either houses of Parliament. Formally, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints all Ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. The constitution is amended by repealing the Clause of Article 43, enabling a person who is a member of State Legislative Assembly to continue to be one even when he or she is appointed as a minister or deputy minister in the cabinet. Ministers other than the Prime Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, unless the appointment of any Minister shall have been revoked by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister but any Minister may resign his office. In practice, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is obliged to follow the advice of the Prime Minister on the appointment and dismissal of ministers.

Cabinet appointments

Members of the Cabinet must be members of either house of Parliament. Most ministers are appointed from the lower house, the Dewan Rakyat, although a few are appointed from the upper house, the Dewan Negara. The Prime Minister must be a member of the Dewan Rakyat. Although Deputy Ministers and/or Parliamentary Secretaries may be appointed to each portfolio, they are not included in the Cabinet. The Cabinet meets weekly, every Wednesday. After the position of Parliamentary Secretary was removed and partial live telecasts of Parliament proceedings began in 2008, Cabinet meetings were moved to Fridays whenever Parliament sat, so as to allow Ministers to personally answer questions during Question Time in Parliament.

Cabinet composition

The composition of the Cabinet, and the number of portfolios depends mainly on the wishes of the Prime Minister at the time. However, the post of Finance Minister was considered so important as to be a necessity, and as a result was incorporated by the Minister of Finance Act 1957. The position of Deputy Prime Minister is one that exists by convention, and as a result a Prime Minister could theoretically form a Cabinet without a Deputy.
Deputy ministers exist for each portfolio, although they are not considered members of the Cabinet. The position of Deputy Minister was created by constitutional amendment in 1960. The office of parliamentary secretary for each ministry exists but none were appointed after the 2008 Malaysian general election. Parliamentary secretaries were provided for by an amendment in 1963. Deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries are also appointed from members of Parliament, and deputise for the ministers in government ministries and in Parliament respectively. An additional office, that of the Political Secretary, exists. Political Secretaries need not be members of Parliament. Before taking office, all members of the Cabinet, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, and Political Secretaries take an oath of secrecy concerning the proceedings of the Cabinet.

Functions of cabinet

An outline of the functions of the Cabinet are as follow:
21 cabinets have taken place in Malaysia since 1957 headed by seven Prime Ministers.
Name of CabinetHead of CabinetPeriod of OfficeComposition
Rahman ITunku Abdul Rahman31 August 1957 – 19 August 195913 ministers
Rahman IITunku Abdul Rahman22 August 1959 – 24 April 1964
  • 16 ministers
  • 6 assistant ministers
Rahman IIITunku Abdul Rahman25 April 1964 – 1969
  • 20 ministers
  • 5 assistant ministers
  • 4 parliamentary secretaries
  • Rahman IVTunku Abdul Rahman1969 – 21 December 19709 ministers
    Razak IAbdul Razak Hussein22 December 1970 – 24 August 1974
  • 22 ministers
  • 7 deputy ministers
  • 5 parliamentary secretaries
  • Razak IIAbdul Razak Hussein25 August 1974 – 14 January 1976
  • 20 ministers
  • 16 deputy ministers
  • 9 parliamentary secretaries
  • Hussein IHussein Onn15 January 1976 – 8 July 1978
  • 22 ministers
  • 20 deputy ministers
  • 8 parliamentary secretaries
  • Hussein IIHussein Onn9 July 1978 – 15 July 1981
  • 23 ministers
  • 22 deputy ministers
  • 9 parliamentary secretaries
  • Mahathir IMahathir Mohamad16 July 1981 – 21 April 1982
  • 24 ministers
  • 22 deputy ministers
  • 10 parliamentary secretaries
  • Mahathir IIMahathir Mohamad22 April 1982 – 2 August 1986
  • 24 ministers
  • 29 deputy ministers
  • 9 parliamentary secretaries
  • Mahathir IIIMahathir Mohamad11 August 1986 – 26 October 1990
  • 24 ministers
  • 31 deputy ministers
  • 10 parliamentary secretaries
  • Mahathir IVMahathir Mohamad22 October 1990 – 3 May 1995
  • 26 ministers
  • 30 deputy ministers
  • 14 parliamentary secretaries
  • Mahathir VMahathir Mohamad4 May 1995 – 14 December 1999
  • 30 ministers
  • 27 deputy ministers
  • 14 parliamentary secretaries
  • Mahathir VIMahathir Mohamad15 December 1999 – 2 November 2003
  • 30 ministers
  • 28 deputy ministers
  • 16 parliamentary secretaries
  • Abdullah IAbdullah Ahmad Badawi3 November 2003 – 26 March 2004
  • 31 ministers
  • 29 deputy ministers
  • 16 parliamentary secretaries
  • Abdullah IIAbdullah Ahmad Badawi27 March 2004 – 18 March 2008
  • 34 ministers
  • 39 deputy ministers
  • 20 parliamentary secretaries
  • Abdullah IIIAbdullah Ahmad Badawi19 March 2008 – 9 April 2009
  • 32 ministers
  • 38 deputy ministers
  • Najib INajib Razak10 April 2009 – 15 May 2013
  • 33 ministers
  • 40 deputy ministers
  • Najib IINajib Razak16 May 2013 – 9 May 2018
  • 38 ministers
  • 34 deputy ministers
  • Mahathir VIIMahathir Mohamad10 May 2018 – 29 February 2020
  • 28 ministers
  • 27 deputy ministers
  • MuhyiddinMuhyiddin Yassin1 March 2020 – incumbent
  • 32 ministers
  • 38 deputy ministers
  • Current cabinet

    Inactive portfolio

    Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry
    Ministry of Communications and Multimedia
    Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
    Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change
    Ministry of Territories
    Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    Ministry of Home Affairs
    Ministry of Human Resources
    Ministry of Internal Security
    Ministry of International Trade and Industry
    Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
    Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities
    Ministry of Rural and Regional Development
    Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
    Ministry of Tourism and Culture
    Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government
    Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development
    Ministry of Works
    Ministry of Youth and Sports
    Ministry of Health
    Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
    Others