Zuraida said she was leaving it to Ismail’s discretion to decide on the matter, reiterating that the prime minister had the prerogative to make the final call.

“So, let’s just wait for his decision,” the plantation industries and commodities minister said at a press conference here today.

She said she expected to meet Ismail over the matter this week.

She was asked by reporters to comment on Bersatu leaders laying claim to her yet-to-be vacated minister’s post and whether she would still resign if Ismail wanted her to stay.

Zuraida had quit Bersatu last month to join the newly formed Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM), though her former party president, Muhyiddin Yassin, said they knew that she was involved in PBM all along.

Muhyiddin said he would submit the name of a candidate for the plantation industries and commodities portfolio to Ismail.

Zuraida said she would attend this week’s Cabinet meeting, adding that “as the prime minister has said, I am still a minister”.

She also did not dismiss the possibility of defending her Ampang parliamentary seat, which she has held since 2008.

“Now that I’m in another party, it’s easier to decide,” she said.