By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, June 27: Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan has been appointed to assume the responsibilities and functions of the Minister of Economy, effective immediately.
Chief Secretary to the Government and Cabinet Secretary Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said the appointment was approved by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and announced during the Cabinet meeting on June 25.
“Amir Hamzah’s primary responsibility is to develop and overhaul the framework of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), which is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament on July 31.
“This process will incorporate additional input from various ministries, as well as views and feedback provided by Cabinet members,” he said in a statement today.
The economy portfolio became vacant after Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli resigned on May 28, with his resignation taking effect on June 17, 2025, following his defeat in the race to retain the deputy president post in Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
In his statement, the Pandan MP said the loss meant he no longer held a party mandate to translate PKR’s people-centric agenda into government programmes.
On the same day, Anwar confirmed he had received Rafizi’s leave request, effective from that date, along with his resignation from the Cabinet.
According to a Bernama report today, Amir Hamzah expressed his appreciation to the Prime Minister for the trust placed in him and the mandate to assist with duties at the Ministry of Economy.
He said a key focus moving forward is the finalisation of the 13MP.
“A substantial amount of feedback has been received from ministers, calling for a restructuring of the 13MP to better reflect the Madani government’s policy priorities and to maintain the momentum of the Madani Economy reform agenda,” he added. — DayakDaily
