Shahrir to quit on April 8 when new Cabinet is named

Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said his decision to quit as Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister will not affect the running of the government or cause embarrassment to anyone.
He said this was because the resignation was effective only from April 8 when incoming Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would announce his new Cabinet line-up.
He said it was unanimously decided at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting that the current ministers would automatically relinquish their posts when the new line-up was announced.
“Datuk Seri Najib is scheduled to leave for an overseas visit on April 9 so I expect the announcement to come a day earlier so the ministers will relinquish their posts on the same day that my resignation becomes effective,” he told a press conference at his ministry yesterday.
He said it was not necessary for the ministers to submit their resignation letters but he personally felt it was necessary to hand his letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi during the meeting.
Asked whether Abdullah accepted his resignation, he said, there was confusion as to who should receive the letter.
“Technically, I can only hand my resignation to Datuk Abdullah since he is the Prime Minister but the letter is effective on April 8 when Datuk Seri Najib would already have taken over the leadership, so he (Abdullah) neither accepted nor rejected the letter,” he said.
Shahrir decided to quit as he felt it was unfair of him to hold the post after failing to get a seat in the Umno supreme council.
He said there were many talented MPs and leaders in Barisan Nasional who would be able to function equally effectively as the minister or even do better than him.