Except for two technocrats, the rest of the cabinet are politicians – some who jumped after the 2018 general election, some who jumped out of PH and some who have been jumping around for a while now.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin outdid himself for a government that has the slimmest majority in Malaysia. Of course, that point of a majority is arguable, too.
But outdid himself, Muhyiddin did. A cabinet of 31 members and 38 deputies – way bigger than Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s cabinet of 27 members and 26 deputies – despite the wafer-thin majority of 114 MPs.
“I want to form a cabinet that can provide the best service to the people, a cabinet that delivers,” he said yesterday when announcing his list.
But the bloated number of ministers and deputies shows the weakness of a prime minister who needs to keep everyone in his scratch coalition happy, from Umno to PAS to the rump Barisan Nasional and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
Even the promised sprinkling of technocrats didn’t materialise because there were political considerations to be met. Two if you include the Kuala Lumpur mufti, Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri.
The rest are politicians, some who jumped after the 2018 general election, some who jumped out of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and some who have been jumping around for a while now.
The deputy prime minister’s post was also not filled because Muhyiddin had to appease Umno, which has the largest bloc of MPs in the Perikatan Nasional coalition.
Who does this cabinet serve or deliver to then?
First, the parties that made it happen. The early rewards are posts for more than half of this new coalition, particularly 10 out of the 11 either sacked or left PKR followed by those who jumped from Umno to Bersatu.
And would you trust PAS politicians in the environment ministry? The party has ruled Kelantan since 1990 and oversaw hectares of jungles being cleaned out for logs or durian plantations – removing the home and livelihood of the Orang Asli.
Second, politicians who failed the smell test of integrity and without the stench of graft, such as Hishammuddin Hussein, who has yet to explain the purchase of army helicopters that never materialised or Annuar Musa during his time as Mara chairman when the government agency was embroiled in property scandals.
Third, the ones who argue that a multiracial government means token posts for the minorities in the country. Perhaps it is due to the parties in PN but is this Malaysia in 2020?
How will this government fare at a time when the last national budget was based on US$60 (RM254) a barrel at a time when oil prices are hovering above US$30?
How will this government face the downturn from the Covid-19 outbreak?
How will this government struggle past the scandals of 1Malaysia Development Bhd and rest with ministers who kept silent when it happened?
The reality is no one expects anything from a government that they did not elect. Malaysia is now a country with a prime minister appeasing his allies who got him the job, not the people who want a government that can deliver. – TMI