KUALA LUMPUR, 9 April 2009: Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties have more or less retained their respective quota of positions in the new cabinet and administration line-up announced today by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
In the new cabinet which has 28 ministers, four less than the 32 of the previous cabinet, Umno has 19 ministers — three less than the 22 it had in the previous cabinet.
MCA, the second biggest component party, had its four posts of minister retained while Gerakan saw the return of its sole ministerial position which the party had given up after it lost badly in the general election last year. The MCA received an additional post of deputy minister, raising the number to seven.
The MIC, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) and Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), the United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Organisation (Upko) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) had their one post of minister retained. The SUPP also retained its two posts of deputy minister.
The Sarawak People’s Democratic Party (SPDP) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) retained their two posts of deputy minister while the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) retained their sole post of deputy minister.
Umno has five new faces in the line-up. They are Maj Gen (Rtd) Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom (Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department), Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah (Second Finance Minister), Datuk Anifah Aman (Foreign Minister), Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin (Federal Territories Minister) and Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil (who makes a comeback as Women, Family and Community Development Minister).
As for MCA, its president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat was retained as the transport minister and vice-president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai as the health minister.
Vice-president Datuk Kong Cho Ha, who was deputy finance minister, has been promoted as Housing and Local Government Minister, taking over from Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan who has been dropped.
Another vice-president Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen, who was women, family and community development minister, has been reassigned as the tourism minister, replacing Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said who has been dropped.
Among the deputy ministers from the MCA, Perak Wanita MCA chief Senator Heng Seai Kie is deputy information, communications, arts and culture minister; Datuk Lee Chee Leong deputy foreign minister and Wanita MCA chief Datuk Paduka Chew Mei Fun deputy women, family and Community Development Minister.
As for MIC, its quota of one minister and two deputy ministers has been retained. Party secretary-general Datuk Dr S Subramaniam is human resource minister, information chief Datuk M Saravanan deputy federal territories minister and treasurer Datuk S K Devamany deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, all retaining their previous posts.
Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon has been appointed minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of unity and performance management.
The two deputy ministers from Gerakan — Datuk Tan Lian Hoe and Senator A Kohilan Pillay — have been retained but in different portfolios. Kohilan Pillay has been moved from the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry to the Foreign Ministry while Tan has been moved from the Information Ministry to the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.
In the previous cabinet, Gerakan had only two posts of deputy minister as Tsu Koon had lost in the general election last year.
The representatives from PBB are senior vice-president II Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas (Natural Resources and Environment Minister), PBB Youth chief Datuk Fadilah Yusof (Science, Technology and Innovation Deputy Minister) and Datuk Sulaiman Taib (Deputy Tourism Minister).
SUPP is represented by Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui (Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister) and Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew (Deputy Transport Minister) and Datuk Yong Khoon Seng (Deputy Works Minister).
Sabah has four posts of minister compared to three previously, with Datuk Anifah Aman being appointed foreign minister.
The other ministers are Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili of PBS who has been retained as Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Upko president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok (Plantation Industries and Commodities) and newly-elected Umno vice-president Datuk Shafie Apdal, who has been reassigned to the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.
PBRS is represented by its president Tan Sri Joseph Kurup (Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister), LDP by its president Datuk Liew Vui Keong (Deputy Minister in Prime Minister’s Department) and PPP by T Murugiah (Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department).
PRS is represented by deputy president Datuk Joseph Entulu Beluan (Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister) and Information chief Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum (Deputy Minister of Information, Communications, Arts and Culture).
SPDP is represented by vice-president Jelaing Mersat (Deputy Home Minister) and senior vice-president Jacob Dungau Sagan (Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister). — Bernama
yanto says
Allah, please guide us…
PM says
Najib’s cabinet is like putting old wine in a new bottle. Nothing has changed, and this is what I would expect of someone who is not his own man.
Gopal Raj Kumar says
If there is an issue to be raised in the pejorative on the new cabinet of Najib Razak, it is this:
There is no evidencce of meritorious appointments being made. Instead, appointments to the cabinet appear to be the product of horseflesh trading in the crudest possible way of fitting numbers to seats based on loyalties, and not on a common vision or objective for good.
The compliant “cap in hand” representatives of Indian and Chinese [Malaysian] communities accept their role passively as if it were ordained that the BN has some ascriptive right to lord over them in such a manner along with the variety of East Malaysians who accept the subservient role to a dominant Malay [Malaysian] cabinet.
Yes, it is true the Malay [Malaysians] are in the majority. But that’s where the worth of a majority should cease in this case.
As to contributions from within the community in general, when it comes to managing the resources and the destiny of the nation, merit and merit alone should be the criteria. Instead, it appears to be a casualty.
Singapore is not a mere neighbour. It is a useful template from which to draw especially in such uncertain times. Those who can cut it are called forth to carry their proportion of the national burden even if in means at times “punching above their weight”.
To create a unified nation, where prosperity is a desired outcome alongside security and stability (1Malaysia), then merit must always be the criteria.
Najib Rajak may be forgiven for engaging in political horseflesh trading at this stage of his ascendency to the post of prime minister. It is not easy, as he acuqired his position not by popular mandate or a public vote of confidence but by sleight of hand, the party re-arranging the deck chairs (hopefully not on a Titanic of a nation).
He needs time and encouragement. But these two factors alone cannot change anything in the way Malaysia is governed or how partisan politics operates.
People individually need to change their own aspriations as do the divided communities that make up Malaysia.
Government in this case is an uneasy balancing act of three major groups wanting to be what they once were, but within a rigid framework of what they say they want to be.
Without a major paradigm shift in the thinking of the Chinese and Indian [Malaysians] to make the Malay [Malaysians] feel comfortable enough with them (after all the Malay [Malaysians] are the majority and the indigenous and original inhabitants of Malaysia), without the former two groups making those distinctions that they as Indian and Chinese [Malaysians] culturally display in public to the exclusion of Malay [Malaysians], there will always be much debate and hand-wringing as to how to overcome the way Malaysia is run.