The Cabinet of Malaysia (Malay: Jemaah Menteri 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 Federal 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.Hj. Mohd Jali, Nazaruddin, Redzuan, Ma'arof, Abu Samah, Asnarulkhadi & Hj. Mohd Rashid, Ismail (2003). Malaysian Studies: Nationhood and Citizenship, p. 73. Pearson Malaysia. . The constitution is amended by repealing the Clause (8) of Article 43, enabling a person who is a member of State Legislative Assembly to continue to serve even while serving 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shall hold office during the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, unless the appointment of any Minister shall have been revoked by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister but any Minister may resign from office.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 Parliamentary Secretaries may be appointed to each portfolio, they are not included in the Cabinet. The Cabinet meets weekly, every Wednesday.Funston, John (2001). "Malaysia: Developmental State Challenged". In John Funston (Ed.), Government and Politics in Southeast Asia, pp. 173–175. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 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 (Incorporation) Act 1957 (Act 375).Wu, Min Aun & Hickling, R. H. (2003). Hickling's Malaysian Public Law, pp. 84–85. Petaling Jaya: Pearson Malaysia. . 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.Wu & Hickling, p. 86.
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 follows:Jeong Chun Hai @ Ibrahim, & Nor Fadzlina Nawi. (2012). Principles of Public Administration: Malaysian Perspectives. Kuala Lumpur: Pearson Publishers.
To formulate national economic policies and development programmes. The Cabinet is responsible to formulate various development programs and projects for the development of the country. Examples are the New Economic Policy (NEP), the National Development Policy (NDP), and the National Vision Policy (NVP). To set the budget and finance of the country. The government is allowed to generate revenues from the people through the collection of taxes, fines, summons, custom duties, fees, etc. The government is allowed to plan for the various development programs, and also to allocate the resources for these development plans and programs. As an arena for suggestions, debates, and criticisms. The Cabinet is allowed to discuss almost any issues of national interests, except those that touch on the special rights of the Malays, Bumiputeras and/or royal privileges. Article 153 (1): It shall be the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to safeguard the special position of the Malays and Natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak, and the legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article. To propose and amend the law. Law is proposed by the Executive and introduce in Parliament with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd readings for approval. Most provisions for the amendments of the constitution requires a 2/3 majority of the total number of members from both of the Houses (Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat) The bill must be presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for the final assent.
List of cabinets 23 cabinets have taken place in Malaysia since 1957 headed by nine Prime Ministers. No.Name of cabinetHead of cabinetPeriod of officeComposition1Rahman ITunku Abdul Rahman31 August 1957 – 19 August 1959 13 ministers2Rahman II22 August 1959 – 24 April 1964 16 ministers 6 assistant ministers3Rahman III25 April 1964 – 1969 20 ministers 5 assistant ministers 4 parliamentary secretaries4Rahman IV1969 – 21 December 19709 ministers5Razak IAbdul Razak Hussein22 December 1970 – 24 August 1974 22 ministers 7 deputy ministers 5 parliamentary secretaries6Razak II25 August 1974 – 14 January 1976 20 ministers 16 deputy ministers 9 parliamentary secretaries7Hussein IHussein Onn15 January 1976 – 8 July 1978 22 ministers 20 deputy ministers 8 parliamentary secretaries8Hussein II9 July 1978 – 15 July 1981 23 ministers 22 deputy ministers 9 parliamentary secretaries9Mahathir IMahathir Mohamad16 July 1981 – 21 April 1982 24 ministers 22 deputy ministers 10 parliamentary secretaries10Mahathir II22 April 1982 – 2 August 1986 24 ministers 29 deputy ministers 9 parliamentary secretaries11Mahathir III11 August 1986 – 26 October 1990 24 ministers 31 deputy ministers 10 parliamentary secretaries12Mahathir IV22 October 1990 – 3 May 1995 26 ministers 30 deputy ministers 14 parliamentary secretaries13Mahathir V4 May 1995 – 14 December 1999 30 ministers 27 deputy ministers 14 parliamentary secretaries14Mahathir VI15 December 1999 – 2 November 2003 30 ministers 28 deputy ministers 16 parliamentary secretaries15Abdullah IAbdullah Ahmad Badawi3 November 2003 – 26 March 2004 31 ministers 29 deputy ministers 16 parliamentary secretaries16Abdullah II27 March 2004 – 18 March 2008 34 ministers 39 deputy ministers 20 parliamentary secretaries17Abdullah III19 March 2008 – 9 April 2009 32 ministers 38 deputy ministers18Najib INajib Razak10 April 2009 – 15 May 2013 33 ministers 40 deputy ministers19Najib II16 May 2013 – 9 May 2018 38 ministers 34 deputy ministers20Mahathir VIIMahathir Mohamad10 May 2018 – 24 February 2020 28 ministers 27 deputy ministers21MuhyiddinMuhyiddin Yassin1 March 2020 – 16 August 2021 32 ministers 38 deputy ministers22Ismail SabriIsmail Sabri Yaakob27 August 2021 – 24 November 2022 32 ministers 38 deputy ministers23AnwarAnwar Ibrahim24 November 2022 – present 31 ministers 29 deputy ministers
Current Cabinet
The current cabinet, led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, succeeds the Ismail Sabri cabinet. Anwar formed his cabinet following the 2022 General Election.
As of 17 December 2025, the makeup of the current Cabinet is as follows: Anwar Ibrahim cabinet Minister Office(s) Department Took office Anwar Ibrahim Prime Minister Prime Minister's Department 24 November 2022Minister of FinanceMinistry of Finance3 December 2022 Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi Deputy Prime Minister Prime Minister's Department 3 December 2022Minister of Rural and Regional DevelopmentMinistry of Rural and Regional Development Fadillah Yusof Deputy Prime Minister Prime Minister's Department 3 December 2022Minister of Energy Transition and Water TransformationMinistry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation12 December 2023 Azalina Othman SaidMinister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform)Prime Minister's Department3 December 2022 Hannah YeohMinister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories)Prime Minister's Department17 December 2025Mustapha SakmudMinister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak)Prime Minister's Department17 December 2025 Dr. Zulkifli HasanMinister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs)Prime Minister's Department17 December 2025 Amir Hamzah AzizanMinister of Finance IIMinistry of Finance12 December 2023 Anthony LokeMinister of TransportMinistry of Transport3 December 2022 Mohamad SabuMinister of Agriculture and Food SecurityMinistry of Agriculture and Food Security3 December 2022 Nga Kor MingMinister of Housing and Local GovernmentMinistry of Housing and Local Government3 December 2022 Mohamad HasanMinister of Foreign AffairsMinistry of Foreign Affairs12 December 2023 Alexander Nanta LinggiMinister of WorksMinistry of Works3 December 2022 Saifuddin Nasution IsmailMinister of Home AffairsMinistry of Home Affairs3 December 2022 Mohamed Khaled NordinMinister of DefenceMinistry of Defence12 December 2023 Chang Lih KangMinister of Science, Technology and InnovationMinistry of Science, Technology and Innovation3 December 2022 Nancy ShukriMinister of Women, Family and Community DevelopmentMinistry of Women, Family and Community Development3 December 2022 Dr. Zambry Abdul KadirMinister of Higher EducationMinistry of Higher Education12 December 2023 Tiong King SingMinister of Tourism, Arts and CultureMinistry of Tourism, Arts and Culture3 December 2022 Fahmi FadzilMinister of CommunicationsMinistry of Communications12 December 2023 Fadhlina SidekMinister of EducationMinistry of Education3 December 2022 Aaron Ago DagangMinister of National UnityMinistry of National Unity3 December 2022 Armizan Mohd AliMinister of Domestic Trade and Cost of LivingMinistry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living12 December 2023 Johari Abdul GhaniMinister of Investment, Trade and IndustryMinistry of Investment, Trade and Industry17 December 2025 Gobind Singh DeoMinister of DigitalMinistry of Digital12 December 2023 Dr. Dzulkefly AhmadMinister of HealthMinistry of Health12 December 2023 Steven Sim Chee KeongMinister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives DevelopmentMinistry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development17 December 2025 Akmal NasirMinister of EconomyMinistry of Economy17 December 2025 Arthur Joseph KurupMinister of Natural Resources and Environmental SustainabilityMinistry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability17 December 2025 Dr. Noraini AhmadMinister of Plantation and CommoditiesMinistry of Plantation and Commodities17 December 2025 Ramanan RamakrishnanMinister of Human ResourcesMinistry of Human Resources17 December 2025 Dr. Mohammed Taufiq JohariMinister of Youth and SportsMinistry of Youth and Sports17 December 2025
Inactive portfolios Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry of Agriculture and Lands Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry of Communications