Prime minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim will not be part of the Cabinet anytime soon.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Thursday, Aug. 29, that there are no vacancies in the Cabinet at the moment, which could be taken to mean that the current prime minister is staying put, and Anwar will not be making the transition into the prime minister role just yet.

“We are not having any change or increase in the number of members in the Cabinet since nobody has indicated that they want to resign, so we have no vacancy," Mahathir said during a press conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya.

“Whenever we have a vacancy, we will consider suitable candidates.”

Anwar's transition stymied

Mahathir's reply was in response to a question about why Anwar was not yet given a role in the Cabinet.

This was despite the consistent talk about Anwar's imminent transition that will see Mahathir hand over his prime ministerial duties to the Parti Keadilan Rakyat president.

A week before this latest mini bombshell that appears to indicate Anwar's move into the Cabinet has been stymied, Mahathir had confirmed that the Cabinet did discuss possible changes in several ministers’ portfolios during its weekly meeting.

But no reshuffle is imminent.

The rumour previously was that Jeli MP and former Umno minister Mustapa Mohamed will be appointed into the Cabinet.

Mustapa was the Minister of International Trade and Industry in former PM Najib Razak's Cabinet.

He was also a former finance, higher education, agriculture and agro-based, and entrepreneur development minister.

Some have considered Mustapa an experienced minister who is too big to leave on the sidelines.

This rumour has led to some frustration among those who support Anwar, who is seen as being overlooked, and having to contend with an Umno man jostling for a Cabinet role.

Anwar as prime minister promise

During the run-up to 14th general election, Pakatan Harapan had said that Anwar would be made the eighth prime minister, taking over Mahathir after a period of two years.

Things have not gone according to plan, as Mahathir has only been saying the promise of him eventually stepping down would be fulfilled, but no date has been set yet.

Earlier this month, Mahathir reiterated that he will keep his promise to step aside for Anwar, claiming the only way he would renege were if someone “put a gun” to his head.