'Not sure if I’ll be appointed as deputy minister' - Azli
MOHD FAIZUL HAIKA MAT KHAZI
SHAH ALAM – Shah Alam Member of Parliament Azli Yusof confirms that his name has not yet been listed as a candidate for the position of Deputy Defence Minister representing Amanah, even if Adly Zahari is promoted to the position of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the near future.
He said he had not received any official letter regarding the matter from the Prime Minister's Office and the talk of his appointment was a rumour.
Earlier, there were strong speculations that Anwar might consider a cabinet reshuffle in the near future, with Adly, who is currently the Amanah Deputy President, being mentioned as the main candidate to replace the former Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, the late Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, who passed away due to a brain haemorrhage on July 23.
If the rumours turned out to be true, the position of Deputy Defence Minister allocated to Amanah would be vacant, with Azli being among the names mentioned to fill it, along with Johor Pakatan Harapan (PH) Deputy Chairman Aminolhuda Hassan, Youth Chief Hasbie Muda, Deputy President Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof and Communications Director Khalid Samad.
"I haven't been listed as a deputy minister candidate yet. I can't comment further because, as of now, I haven't received any official confirmation letter (from the Prime Minister's Office)," he told Sinar Premium yesterday.
For the record, Azli won the Shah Alam parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election (GE15) with a majority of 18,095 votes after defeating three other candidates, including Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Dr Afif Bahardin (43,314 votes), Hizatul Isham Abdul Jalil (BN-Umno) who received 28,266 votes, and Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali (GTA-Pejuang) with 2,781 votes.
Previously, the media reported that the Prime Minister did not rule out the possibility of announcing a Cabinet reshuffle in the near future to fill the vacancy of the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living minister.
