The new cabinet line-up announced by premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today created two new ministries, split another three, abolished two, merged two more and renamed five others. Six ministries were unchanged.

The newly-created Internal Security ministry, carved out of the Home Affairs ministry, will oversee the police force, civil defence, prisons, printing and publishing activities, National Drugs Agency and the Royal Commission on the Police, among others.

Its twin, the Home Affairs ministry, will continue overseeing the Immigration Department, National Registration Department, Registrar of Societies and the Film Censorship Board.

Worth noting is the shift of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia from the Foreign Ministry to the Legal Affairs Division in the Prime Minister's Department.

The Department of National Unity and Integration, previously under the National Unity and Community Development ministry, has also been moved to the PM's Department.

The latter ministry has been merged with the Women and Family Development ministry to form the new Women, Family and Community portfolio.

Following the abolition of the Land and Cooperative Development ministry, its functions will be spread among the PM's Department, the newly formed Natural Resources and Environment and the Rural and Regional Development ministries.

The latter will focus more on land development in Sabah and Sarawak.

Ministry for innovations

The Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), previously under the now-defunct ministry, falls under the PM's Department now while the cooperative function is assumed by the Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development ministry.

The Primary Industries ministry, renamed Plantation Industries and Commodities, will retain its original role while its splinter known as Natural Resources and Environment ministry will oversee matters related to forestry and minerals.

Another ministry with a new name is the Science, Technology and Innovations ministry. It will deal with Information Technology and Multimedia, and content development, taking over the role of the Energy, Communications and Multimedia ministry.

The Multimedia Development Corporation and the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation have been moved from the finance and the international trade and industry ministries respectively, to here.

However, environment and wildlife matters will be handled by the Natural Resources and Environment ministry.

Tourism on its own

The Energy, Water and Communications ministry will assume the services related to water and sewerage from the Works and Housing and Local Government ministries. It will retain the areas of postal services, energy and communication (infrastructure).

The newly-formed Arts, Culture and Heritage ministry will oversee, among others, the restoration of historical buildings, a role previously undertaken by the housing ministry.

Tourism has its own portfolio now, similar to education.

However, a new ministry for higher education has been formed to handle the booming sector which is the public and private universities and higher learning institutes.

Urban poverty eradication, an area that was previously under the renamed Rural Development ministry, will fall under the housing ministry in the new administration.

A new ministry has been created to oversee matters in the Federal Territories, including the planning and development within the Klang Valley. It also encompasses City Hall, Putrajaya Corporation and Labuan Corporation, among others.

Six ministries had no changes. They are health, transport, human resources, defence, youth and sports, and domestic trade and consumer affairs.