An academician today said that the impending cabinet reshuffle will just be a cosmetic change while another said that such an exercise would cause additional burdens to be borne by the taxpayer.

Professor P Ramasamy told malaysiakini that he was not certain the reshuffle will be meaningful and considered it a "cosmetic change" that will not change the government administration in entirety.

"Will the changes be sweeping enough answer questions of corruption and cronyism in the government?" asked Ramasamy, from the Political Science Department of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

He also said that government should consider making cabinet changes more people-friendly rather than business-friendly.

Philosophy change

He also said that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was adamant that nothing was wrong with his government.

"He must change this philosophy first. There are some serious problems in the country but I'm sure he will only make some cosmetic changes to the cabinet," said Ramasamy.

He added that Mahathir was making the changes with the intention to stop the split in the Malay community.

"He can't clean up Umno or save Barisan Nasional with the present philosophy. Changes must be wholesome if he wants to project a clean and responsible image," he said.

Burden for taxpayers

Associate Professor Dr Abdul Aziz Bari said that the reshuffle was morally unjustified as every cabinet reshuffle increased the burden of taxpayers.

"Taxpayers must pay for the salaries, pensions and other financial benefits of cabinet members, bother present and past," said Abdul Aziz, who specialises in public law at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

He said that he was not totally against cabinet reshuffles, but just that it should not be done too often or to repay loyalty.

"To bring people into the Executive just to repay loyalty is bad," he said.

"The reshuffle will also make Mahathir stronger. The mainstream media are playing up the issue and portraying Mahathir as though he is a king," said Abdul Aziz.

Reshuffle confirmed

Rumours regarding a cabinet reshuffle have been circulating since mid-December and were confirmed by Mahathir when he returned from a six-day visit to Burma on Jan 8.

Yesterday, he said that the reshuffle will not be a major one. He declined to specify how many ministries would be involved.

This would be the first cabinet reshuffle since the general elections in November 1999.

The prime minister said he would announce the new cabinet as soon as possible, possibly even before the Chinese New Year which falls on Jan 24, adding that the announcement may be made by his deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Mahathir is scheduled to be in Japan on a working visit from Jan 17-21.

Senators involved

The reshuffle is also being done following for the resignation of Islamic affairs minister Abdul Hamid Othman early this month.

Unconfirmed reports say that Abdul Hamid, who lost the Sik parliamentary seat to PAS candidate Shahnon Ahmad in 1999, may be appointed Islamic affairs adviser to Mahathir.

AFP reports, quoting an Umno source, said those to be involved in the reshuffle include the deputy education minister and former political secretary to Mahathir, Senator Abdul Aziz Samsuddin, former Selangor menteri besar and Umno vice-president, Muhammad Muhammad Taib, and Umno executive secretary and Federal Territory Umno liaison head Senator Tengku Adnan Mansor.