What cabinet reshuffle means to MCA
Published: Jun 2, 2010 2:42 PM | Updated: Jun 2, 2010 3:55 PM
Yesterday's cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak reflects his cognisance of the leadership changes in the MCA that took place two months ago and he has set about to put things in the right perpective as far as the Chinese community is concerned.
At first glance, it seems that the MCA, under the leadership of Dr Chua Soi Lek, has successfully lobbied for the party to be allocated two significant "strategic portfolios" - deputy home minister and deputy agriculture and agro-based industry minister.
Yesterday's cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak reflects his cognisance of the leadership changes in the MCA that took place two months ago and he has set about to put things in the right perpective as far as the Chinese community is concerned.
At first glance, it seems that the MCA, under the leadership of Dr Chua Soi Lek, has successfully lobbied for the party to be allocated two significant "strategic portfolios" - deputy home minister and deputy agriculture and agro-based industry minister.
MCA vice-president Gan Peng Sieu said the party had been requesting for these two strategic portfolios for quite a while as they had a direct bearing on the Chinese community.
The party used to be allocated the position of deputy minister in the Home Ministry but after the 2004 general election, it was replaced by the Tourism Ministry and later, Information, Communication and Culture Ministry.
"These two portfolios are very significant to the MCA. They reflect a symbol of trust and confidence by the prime minister and the BN (Barisan Nasional) top leadership in the MCA," Gan said, adding that the Home Ministry dealt with a number of issues dear to the Chinese community, such as security, identity card (MyKad) and citizenship.
"Many Chinese people are also involved in farming, fisheries, poultry-rearing and all sorts of small farm holdings. Occasionally, there are issues to be resolved with those in the Chinese community, who are also major players in the agro-based industry," he said.
Uphill task
MCA members are pleased that Najib still had faith in the party to rebuild support from the Chinese community as seen through the latest reshuffle even though the Chinese support for the BN had been declining since the March 2008 general election and subsequent by-elections.
"The important thing now is for the party leadership and those appointed (as deputy ministers and ministers) to deliver their tasks well and (subsequently deliver votes)," said a grassroot leader from Selangor.
However, some party veterans said that having significant positions in the government was one thing but winning back support was another as the performance of the ministers and deputy ministers would be evaluated first before support could gather steam.
"For example, in agriculture, can you help landless farmers get land or help fishermen get licences?" said MCA veteran leader Yap Pian Hon.
Other political analysts believe that the MCA will still have an uphill task to regain endorsement from the community unless the BN is willing to review some policies that had been perceived as unfavourable.
"Overall, it is not the individual but more on the government policies and their implementation, where the people will assess whether they are in accordance with the spirit of 1Malaysia or not," said political analyst James Chin.
Unhappy, Dr Chua's son nominated
Overall, Chin said, Dr Chua had done the right thing by putting the party on the right track and consolidating its machinery to prepare for the next general election.
"Whether it is successful or not, we will know by the next general election. At this juncture, it is still too early. You got to give him some time to settle in," he added.
But Dr Chua's detractors claim that he has reneged on his early promise to unite various factions in the party by not dropping key faction leaders or those closely aligned to his political rivals from government positions.
They are also unhappy with the fact that he had nominated his son, Tee Yong (right), 33, to be a deputy minister.
However, Dr Chua defended the move.
He said the MCA had little choice because it had only a few elected representatives to choose from and Tee Yong was one of only two MCA MPs who did not have or had never held any government post before.
"We have 15 MPs. Out of the 15, 13 are either holding posts or have held posts before in the government. So I submitted the remaining two names — Tee Yong (Labis MP) and Tan Ah Eng (Gelang Patah) to the prime minister.
"That is your answer," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.
Najib, when asked about Tee Yong's appointment, said he himself was made a deputy minister at age 25 and Pahang menteri besar at 29.
"Age is not a barrier. What is important is the ability; he is well qualified. I have confidence in his ability to perform as a deputy minister," he said.
Strategic move
Central Committee (CC) member Chong Itt Chew, also defended the move, saying that Dr Chua himself did not hold any cabinet position and Tee Yong was merely appointed deputy minister.
"In the past, we even had more obvious precedents where the party president appointed his brother to be the party secretary-general and the latter was later given a ministerial position," said Chong, who is also Kedah MCA chairperson.
Former MCA president Ong Ka Ting had appointed his elder brother, Ong Ka Chuan, to be the party secretary-general and later nominated him to a ministerial position after deciding not to nominated himself for a cabinet position following the party's poor performance in the 2008 general election.
Political observers said that Dr Chua had made a strategic move to deal with internal politicking by effectively removing some key leaders - such as his rival and former president Ong Tee Keat (dropped as transport minister) and Wee Jeck Seng (dropped as deputy youth and sport minister), said to be closely linked to Ka Ting.
"It's basically Dr Chua laying the groundwork for the next party elections in October next year. By not giving some people any government position, it would hinder them from mounting any serious challenge to his leadership," said an observer.
- Bernama
PM: Tee Yong chosen based on merit
At first glance, it seems that the MCA, under the leadership of Dr Chua Soi Lek, has successfully lobbied for the party to be allocated two significant "strategic portfolios" - deputy home minister and deputy agriculture and agro-based industry minister.
MCA vice-president Gan Peng Sieu said the party had been requesting for these two strategic portfolios for quite a while as they had a direct bearing on the Chinese community.The party used to be allocated the position of deputy minister in the Home Ministry but after the 2004 general election, it was replaced by the Tourism Ministry and later, Information, Communication and Culture Ministry.
"These two portfolios are very significant to the MCA. They reflect a symbol of trust and confidence by the prime minister and the BN (Barisan Nasional) top leadership in the MCA," Gan said, adding that the Home Ministry dealt with a number of issues dear to the Chinese community, such as security, identity card (MyKad) and citizenship.
"Many Chinese people are also involved in farming, fisheries, poultry-rearing and all sorts of small farm holdings. Occasionally, there are issues to be resolved with those in the Chinese community, who are also major players in the agro-based industry," he said.
Uphill task
MCA members are pleased that Najib still had faith in the party to rebuild support from the Chinese community as seen through the latest reshuffle even though the Chinese support for the BN had been declining since the March 2008 general election and subsequent by-elections.
"The important thing now is for the party leadership and those appointed (as deputy ministers and ministers) to deliver their tasks well and (subsequently deliver votes)," said a grassroot leader from Selangor.
However, some party veterans said that having significant positions in the government was one thing but winning back support was another as the performance of the ministers and deputy ministers would be evaluated first before support could gather steam."For example, in agriculture, can you help landless farmers get land or help fishermen get licences?" said MCA veteran leader Yap Pian Hon.
Other political analysts believe that the MCA will still have an uphill task to regain endorsement from the community unless the BN is willing to review some policies that had been perceived as unfavourable.
"Overall, it is not the individual but more on the government policies and their implementation, where the people will assess whether they are in accordance with the spirit of 1Malaysia or not," said political analyst James Chin.
Unhappy, Dr Chua's son nominated
Overall, Chin said, Dr Chua had done the right thing by putting the party on the right track and consolidating its machinery to prepare for the next general election.
"Whether it is successful or not, we will know by the next general election. At this juncture, it is still too early. You got to give him some time to settle in," he added.
But Dr Chua's detractors claim that he has reneged on his early promise to unite various factions in the party by not dropping key faction leaders or those closely aligned to his political rivals from government positions.
They are also unhappy with the fact that he had nominated his son, Tee Yong (right), 33, to be a deputy minister.However, Dr Chua defended the move.
He said the MCA had little choice because it had only a few elected representatives to choose from and Tee Yong was one of only two MCA MPs who did not have or had never held any government post before.
"We have 15 MPs. Out of the 15, 13 are either holding posts or have held posts before in the government. So I submitted the remaining two names — Tee Yong (Labis MP) and Tan Ah Eng (Gelang Patah) to the prime minister.
"That is your answer," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.
Najib, when asked about Tee Yong's appointment, said he himself was made a deputy minister at age 25 and Pahang menteri besar at 29.
"Age is not a barrier. What is important is the ability; he is well qualified. I have confidence in his ability to perform as a deputy minister," he said.
Strategic move
Central Committee (CC) member Chong Itt Chew, also defended the move, saying that Dr Chua himself did not hold any cabinet position and Tee Yong was merely appointed deputy minister.
"In the past, we even had more obvious precedents where the party president appointed his brother to be the party secretary-general and the latter was later given a ministerial position," said Chong, who is also Kedah MCA chairperson. Former MCA president Ong Ka Ting had appointed his elder brother, Ong Ka Chuan, to be the party secretary-general and later nominated him to a ministerial position after deciding not to nominated himself for a cabinet position following the party's poor performance in the 2008 general election.
Political observers said that Dr Chua had made a strategic move to deal with internal politicking by effectively removing some key leaders - such as his rival and former president Ong Tee Keat (dropped as transport minister) and Wee Jeck Seng (dropped as deputy youth and sport minister), said to be closely linked to Ka Ting.
"It's basically Dr Chua laying the groundwork for the next party elections in October next year. By not giving some people any government position, it would hinder them from mounting any serious challenge to his leadership," said an observer.
- Bernama
PM: Tee Yong chosen based on merit
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