Cabinet 2008: Reform or no reform?

Some see hope ahead, but others see the new cabinet as much ado about nothing, following the announcement at noon today.

Malaysiakini canvasses the views of movers and shakers with an interest in governance issues. Here’s what they have to say.

Ambiga Sreenevasan, president, Bar Council

We’re very happy to see Zaid as a member of the Cabinet. He is a member of the Bar and we have very high expectations of him. We will definitely engage him soon.

From the prime minister’s statement, we believe that he has been given a special portfolio on judicial reform. In view of the statements he has made in the past, we believe that he has the right vision for the administration of justice. We hope he will implement some of the ideas he has put forward in the past.

Khoo Kay Peng, political analyst

It looks like the prime minister is trying to hold the coalition together by maintaining the ministership quota to all the component parties. MIC still has one minister while MCA still has four. It is also interesting to note that for the first time, we’re seeing a female minister from MCA.

More interestingly is that people like Rafidah Aziz, Azmi Khalid and Jamaluddin Jarjis, who won in their respective parliamentary constituencies, have been dropped from the cabinet. I think the prime minister is trying to instil a certain kind of reform.

He appears to be reforming his administration by appointing leaders who did not contest in the general election. One good example is Zaid (Ibrahim, left). This has taken a lot of people by surprise. Then there is the return of Shahrir Abdul Samad, who now helms the domestic trade and consumer affairs ministry - a very important post as he will be looking into consumer prices.

There is now also a greater role played by Barisan Nasional components from Sabah and Sarawak. Four ministerships went to these states. It used to be only two. Since the two states have requested for a new deputy prime minister’s post, I suppose their calls are being responded to in another form.

Dr Jacob George, president, Consumer Association Subang and Shah Alam

There seems to be a notion that the PM trying to bring about new faces and trusted members of the old guard who are known to be stable and quite cautious. We had expected something more. Bringing back faces like Muhammad Mohammad Taib is not reflective about the move to bring about change, especially when he is brought in by the back door.

This is frustrating the will of people who made a decision through the ballot. At this moment in time there is no excitement for us. It looks like a makeshift cabinet, which could be quite temporary.

Ramon Navaratnam, president, Transparency International

This appears to be a more dynamic and younger team that is more likely to be committed to good governance and integrity. The addition of Zaid Ibrahim, Amirsham Aziz and Shahrir Abdul Samad is an encouraging sign.

Many of the new faces don’t have the baggage of (their predecessors). We would ask them to face up to the challenge of providing fair, honest and economically progressive policies and to ensure far better implementation of government policies.

Syed Shahrir Mahmud, president, Malaysian Trade Union Congress

We hope that this is not merely cosmetic changes. A new image must be backed by a new system. Only then can the cabinet instil public confidence which has been clearly lost, as shown by the election results.

The new human resources minister Dr S Subramaniam must look into the things that his predecessor has failed to resolve, such as our demand for a minimum wage, amendments to the Industrial Relations Act and the Trade Union Act. The workers of Malaysia want these issues settled, and the new minister and government should be prepared to listen.

Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS president

We view Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s new cabinet as a move to save his position as PM and Umno president, and not to build a new Malaysia. The names announced are from those who are loyal to Abdullah, while those said to be close to deputy premier Najib Abdul Razak have been axed.

The appointment of several senators as cabinet members, especially from Umno, proves that Umno MPs who were successful in the general election are not fit to be in the cabinet.

PAS is also of the opinion that many individuals in the new cabinet are suspect in their morals and character, and this will not instil confidence among the people in the BN.

The cabinet does not appear to have the strength to deal with the public dissatisfaction displayed during the general election. Abdullah should have taken heed of his wavering public support. His new line-up is likely to repeat past mistakes.

Tricia Yeoh, director, Centre for Public Policy Studies

The new line-up is an immediate response to public sentiment displayed in the election results. With new faces in more than half of the cabinet positions, and a smaller cabinet at that, this seems to be Abdullah’s first direct reaction to the desire for change expressed so strongly by Malaysians. Most prominent is the exclusion of Rafidah Aziz, stalwart and epitome of the ‘old guard’ reminiscent of Umno politics.

There are still, of course, some who have been retained in ministerial positions whose character have been questioned - and it is up to them to prove otherwise, failing which the old promise of combating corruption towards public accountability falls flat on its face once again. The move to include Zaid Ibrahim (initially thought to be intentionally left out of the elections) is commendable, signaling Pak Lah's wisdom that Zaid's views (unconventional within Umno) are valuable in reshaping government.

Ultimately, the question is whether or not the refreshing change in cabinet will allow Pak Lah to demonstrate real leadership in transforming government (specifically BN and Umno) in his second term, keeping in mind other strong factors being played out as we speak, namely two extremely significant ones:
• First, the Anwar factor (the possibility of a by-election, his eventual position in Parliament, and the potential growth of the DAP-PKR-PAS alliance in the upcoming months); and
• Second, (widening fissures in) Umno (leading to factions).

These elements, if powerful enough, will undermine any efforts (genuine and sincere though they may be) from Pak Lah to reinvent and redefine government. As they say, the road to disaster [sic] is often paved with good intentions.

Honey Tan, executive director, All Women’s Action Society (Awam)

Awam sees (new Women, Family and Community Development Minister) Dr Ng Yen Yen as a dynamic person. We hope that she will step up the consultative process that has been on going between NGOs and the ministry.

One good process to revive is the Technical Working Groups (TWGs), which were effective ways for organisations with specialist knowledge - such as on health and law matters - to meet regularly with the ministry and work on current issues.

We also hope that she will speak for the interests of all women particularly those who are more marginalised, such as indigeneous women and women of different sexual orientation. We further hope that Dr Ng studies and implements the proposals put forward by the Joint Action Group on Gender Equality. These proposals pertain to laws that need legislating or amending, and policies which need updating.

A Vaithilingam, president, Malaysia Hindu Sangam

The federal and state exco line-ups promise to bring about much-needed reform to many of the institutional problems that have caused much disunity over the years.

Zaid Ibrahim's appointment to the cabinet as minister in charge of legal affairs and judicial reform is a positive move. The Malaysia Hindu Sangam fervently hopes that before long, various thorny issues plaguing national unity in terms of laws and judicial decisions, which have not respected the freedom of religion of all Malaysians, will now be alleviated. Crucially, we hope for legislation to establish an independent Judicial Appointments Commission and we urge the opposition MPs to work with the government to make this a reality.

We call on the new Federal cabinet and all new state governments to urgently engage with the Malaysia Hindu Sangam and our partner organisations of the respective religions in the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism to overcome the many issues affecting the Hindu community around the country.

Of immediate and urgent concern is the continuation of the moratorium on temple demolitions imposed by the prime minister. A continuing dialogue must be instituted to ensure that Hindu temples can continue to effectively play their roles in ensuring a progressive, harmonious Malaysian community with strong moral and ethical values.