Malaysia's prime minister underwent a major cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday, appointing the head of the country's largest state pension fund as second finance minister in a bid to restore trust.

PM Anwar Ibrahim, who has dipped in public opinion polls over the past few months over the economy, inflation and the sluggish rollout of reforms, said the government's top priorities were the economy, health and education.

"The ministry of finance, other than being headed by me, must have a strong professional team to ensure we are on the right track and focus on the economy," Anwar, who is also finance minister, said during a press conference.

Amir Hamzah Azizan, the chief executive of the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), was named second finance minister, Reuters reports, whilst Mohamad Hasan, deputy president of the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) will take over the foreign ministry.

The reshuffle on Tuesday will divide the energy transition and digital portfolios into separate ministries, bringing the number of cabinet members to a total of 31 from 28.

According to the director of BowerGroupAsia, Adib Zalkapli, a cabinet reshuffle was much needed and long overdue: "By appointing the EPF CEO, (Anwar) is addressing the perception that the ministry has been neglected due to his other responsibilities as the prime minister," he stated.

Economic growth in Malaysia suffered a steep slowdown in 2023 from 8.7% last year due to a fall in exports. While inflation has moderated, there are concerns over escalating consumer costs, with the Ringgit being one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia this year.

Anwar's government is formed of his progressive coalition, UMNO, East Malaysian parties, and several smaller parties, the Reuters report adds.

Also, within the reshuffle, Fadillah Yusof moved to the energy transition and public utilities portfolio from the commodities ministry, and taking over as commodities minister is former finance minister Johari Abdul Ghani. The health minister, Dzulkefly Ahmad, is returning to the post after serving from 2018 to 2020.

The only minister to have been removed within the reshuffle was Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar. Former deputy finance minister Steven Sim has taken over the role.