Cabinet of Malaysia

The Cabinet of Malaysia is the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia. It is led by the Prime Minister and made up of a group of ministers who work together to make important decisions for the country. These ministers are chosen from members of Parliament, which is the main law-making body in Malaysia.

According to Article 43 of the Federal Constitution, only people who are part of Parliament can become members of the Cabinet. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who is the King of Malaysia, formally appoints all ministers based on the Prime Minister’s advice. This means the Prime Minister plays a big role in deciding who joins the Cabinet.

The constitution was changed to allow someone who is a member of a State Legislative Assembly to stay in that role even while also serving as a minister or deputy minister in the Cabinet. Ministers, except the Prime Minister, serve as long as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong agrees, but in practice, the King follows the Prime Minister’s advice when appointing or removing ministers. This setup helps ensure that the government runs smoothly and that ministers are responsible for their work.

Cabinet appointments

Members of the Cabinet must be part of either house of Parliament. Most ministers come from the lower house, called the Dewan Rakyat, but a few can be from the upper house, the Dewan Negara. The Prime Minister has to be a member of the Dewan Rakyat. Deputy Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries help with work but are not part of the Cabinet. The Cabinet meets once a week, usually on Wednesday. When Parliament started having some live broadcasts in 2008, the Cabinet changed its meeting day to Friday when Parliament was in session. This allowed ministers to answer questions directly during Question Time in Parliament.

Cabinet composition

The Cabinet of Malaysia is made up of ministers chosen by the Prime Minister. One very important position is the Finance Minister, which is required by law. There is also usually a Deputy Prime Minister, but this is not always required.

Each minister has a deputy, but these deputies are not part of the Cabinet. Deputies help the ministers with their work. There are also other helper positions, but they are not always used. Before starting their jobs, everyone in these important roles promises to keep the Cabinet's discussions private.

Functions of cabinet

The Cabinet of Malaysia helps guide the country by making important decisions. It creates plans for the nation's economy and development, such as special policies to support growth and progress.

The Cabinet also manages the country's money, deciding how to collect taxes and other funds, and planning how to use these resources for development projects. It serves as a place for discussing and debating issues that matter to the nation, though some topics related to special rights are handled differently. Finally, the Cabinet can suggest new laws or change existing ones, which need approval from Parliament and the country's leader.

List of cabinets

Since 1957, Malaysia has had 23 different cabinets led by nine Prime Ministers.

No.	Name of cabinet	Head of cabinet	Period of office	Composition
1	Rahman I	Tunku Abdul Rahman	31 August 1957 – 19 August 1959	13 ministers
2	Rahman II		22 August 1959 – 24 April 1964	16 ministers 6 assistant ministers
3	Rahman III		25 April 1964 – 1969	20 ministers 5 assistant ministers 4 parliamentary secretaries
4	Rahman IV		1969 – 21 December 1970	9 ministers
5	Razak I	Abdul Razak Hussein	22 December 1970 – 24 August 1974	22 ministers 7 deputy ministers 5 parliamentary secretaries
6	Razak II	Abdul Razak Hussein	25 August 1974 – 14 January 1976	20 ministers 16 deputy ministers 9 parliamentary secretaries
7	Hussein I	Hussein Onn	15 January 1976 – 8 July 1978	22 ministers 20 deputy ministers 8 parliamentary secretaries
8	Hussein II	Hussein Onn	9 July 1978 – 15 July 1981	23 ministers 22 deputy ministers 9 parliamentary secretaries
9	Mahathir I	Mahathir Mohamad	16 July 1981 – 21 April 1982	24 ministers 22 deputy ministers 10 parliamentary secretaries
10	Mahathir II		22 April 1982 – 2 August 1986	24 ministers 29 deputy ministers 9 parliamentary secretaries
11	Mahathir III		11 August 1986 – 26 October 1990	24 ministers 31 deputy ministers 10 parliamentary secretaries
12	Mahathir IV		22 October 1990 – 3 May 1995	26 ministers 30 deputy ministers 14 parliamentary secretaries
13	Mahathir V		4 May 1995 – 14 December 1999	30 ministers 27 deputy ministers 14 parliamentary secretaries
14	Mahathir VI		15 December 1999 – 2 November 2003	30 ministers 28 deputy ministers 16 parliamentary secretaries
15	Abdullah I	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi	3 November 2003 – 26 March 2004	31 ministers 29 deputy ministers 16 parliamentary secretaries
16	Abdullah II		27 March 2004 – 18 March 2008	34 ministers 39 deputy ministers 20 parliamentary secretaries
17	Abdullah III		19 March 2008 – 9 April 2009	32 ministers 38 deputy ministers
18	Najib I	Najib Razak	10 April 2009 – 15 May 2013	33 ministers 40 deputy ministers
19	Najib II	Najib Razak	16 May 2013 – 9 May 2018	38 ministers 34 deputy ministers
20	Mahathir VII	Mahathir Mohamad	10 May 2018 – 24 February 2020	28 ministers 27 deputy ministers
21	Muhyiddin	Muhyiddin Yassin	1 March 2020 – 16 August 2021	32 ministers 38 deputy ministers
22	Ismail Sabri	Ismail Sabri Yaakob	27 August 2021 – 24 November 2022	32 ministers 38 deputy ministers
23	Anwar	Anwar Ibrahim	24 November 2022 – present	31 ministers 29 deputy ministers

Current Cabinet

Main article: Anwar Ibrahim cabinet

The current cabinet is led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. It started after the 2022 General Election and replaced the earlier Ismail Sabri cabinet.

As of 17 December 2025, the members of the cabinet are listed here:

Minister		Office(s)	Department	Took office
Anwar Ibrahim cabinet
	Anwar Ibrahim MP for Tambun	Prime Minister	Prime Minister's Department	24 November 2022
	Anwar Ibrahim MP for Tambun	Minister of Finance	Ministry of Finance	3 December 2022
	Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi MP for Bagan Datuk	Deputy Prime Minister	Prime Minister's Department	3 December 2022
	Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi MP for Bagan Datuk	Minister of Rural and Regional Development	Ministry of Rural and Regional Development	3 December 2022
	Fadillah Yusof MP for Petra Jaya	Deputy Prime Minister	Prime Minister's Department	3 December 2022
	Fadillah Yusof MP for Petra Jaya	Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation	Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation	12 December 2023
	Azalina Othman Said MP for Pengerang	Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform)	Prime Minister's Department	3 December 2022
	Hannah Yeoh MP for Segambut	Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories)	Prime Minister's Department	17 December 2025
	Mustapha Sakmud MP for Sepanggar	Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak)	Prime Minister's Department	17 December 2025
	Dr. Zulkifli Hasan Senator	Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs)	Prime Minister's Department	17 December 2025
	Amir Hamzah Azizan Senator	Minister of Finance II	Ministry of Finance	12 December 2023
	Anthony Loke MP for Seremban	Minister of Transport	Ministry of Transport	3 December 2022
	Mohamad Sabu MP for Kota Raja	Minister of Agriculture and Food Security	Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security	3 December 2022
	Nga Kor Ming MP for Teluk Intan	Minister of Housing and Local Government	Ministry of Housing and Local Government	3 December 2022
	Mohamad Hasan MP for Rembau	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	12 December 2023
	Alexander Nanta Linggi MP for Kapit	Minister of Works	Ministry of Works	3 December 2022
	Saifuddin Nasution Ismail Senator	Minister of Home Affairs	Ministry of Home Affairs	3 December 2022
	Mohamed Khaled Nordin MP for Kota Tinggi	Minister of Defence	Ministry of Defence	12 December 2023
	Chang Lih Kang MP for Tanjong Malim	Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation	Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation	3 December 2022
	Nancy Shukri MP for Santubong	Minister of Women, Family and Community Development	Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development	3 December 2022
	Dr. Zambry Abdul Kadir Senator	Minister of Higher Education	Ministry of Higher Education	12 December 2023
	Tiong King Sing MP for Bintulu	Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture	Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture	3 December 2022
	Fahmi Fadzil MP for Lembah Pantai	Minister of Communications	Ministry of Communications	12 December 2023
	Fadhlina Sidek MP for Nibong Tebal	Minister of Education	Ministry of Education	3 December 2022
	Aaron Ago Dagang MP for Kanowit	Minister of National Unity	Ministry of National Unity	3 December 2022
	Armizan Mohd Ali MP for Papar	Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living	Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living	12 December 2023
	Johari Abdul Ghani MP for Titiwangsa	Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry	Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry	17 December 2025
	Gobind Singh Deo MP for Damansara	Minister of Digital	Ministry of Digital	12 December 2023
	Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad MP for Kuala Selangor	Minister of Health	Ministry of Health	12 December 2023
	Steven Sim Chee Keong MP for Bukit Mertajam	Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development	Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development	17 December 2025
	Akmal Nasir MP for Johor Bahru	Minister of Economy	Ministry of Economy	17 December 2025
	Arthur Joseph Kurup MP for Pensiangan	Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability	Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability	17 December 2025
	Dr. Noraini Ahmad MP for Parit Sulong	Minister of Plantation and Commodities	Ministry of Plantation and Commodities	17 December 2025
	Ramanan Ramakrishnan MP for Sungai Buloh	Minister of Human Resources	Ministry of Human Resources	17 December 2025
	Dr. Mohammed Taufiq Johari MP for Sungai Petani	Minister of Youth and Sports	Ministry of Youth and Sports	17 December 2025