[ UPDATE 12/12/2023 11:30 ] Gobind Singh appointed Malaysia’s new Digital Minister.
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After a year in power, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is set to announce a cabinet reshuffle today. It is expected that several ministries will undergo new changes including new faces, realignment of portfolios and new ministerial positions. Former Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh has been speculated to be making a comeback as a cabinet minister. One of the possible portfolios is the Communications and Digital Ministry which is currently helmed by Fahmi Fadzil.
Malay Mail reported that Human Resources Minister V Sivakumar is expected to be dropped following an ongoing investigation over alleged kickbacks from an unnamed businessman. Gobind Singh was reported to be a likely replacement for the Human Resources Ministry.
However, the New Straits Times (NST) reported that Gobind is believed to be making a return to the Communications and Digital Ministry. Interestingly, NST said the current Communications and Digital Ministry is expected to be split into two.
Gobind held the Communications and Multimedia Minister position from 2018 until the Sheraton move in 2020. During his tenure, broadband prices were slashed significantly with the implementation of the Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MSAP) under his promise to double the speed and half the price. At the time, Malaysia was supposedly on track to be one of the first in the region to launch 5G in Q3 2020 using a private-led consortium model. However, the 5G rollout was delayed due to the indecisiveness of the next administration.
After the change of government following the 15th General Election, Gobind revealed that he was invited by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to be part of his Cabinet. However, he turned down the offer as he would like to focus on his role as an MP and assist the government in all ways he can.
Gobind is currently the MP for Damansara and he won the 2022 General Election with a 124,619 majority in a three-cornered fight against Perikatan Nasional and Barisan Nasional candidates.
Anwar has revealed that the cabinet changes will be announced at 11am today.
[ SOURCE, IMAGE SOURCE ]
