Its not the numbers,but the quality of leaders PMX chooses...

Its not the numbers,but the quality of leaders PMX chooses....

Will it be a ‘competent’ reshuffle?...

There are swirling rumours that the prime minister will initiate a cabinet reshuffle. The media is awash with speculation about who will be in, and which underperformer will be dropped. The unity government is 11 months old. So much has already been said and written about the effectiveness, or rather lack of it, with regard to our current crop of ministers.We need ministers with skills, experience, and knowledge who perform their duties efficiently and who are committed to principled leadership.

So, if the PM decides to jettison the deadbeat ministers in his cabinet, it will be a welcome relief.Unfortunately, the precarious situation our Prime Minister is in dictates that rather than bringing in competent and effective people into his cabinet, he is most likely going to carry on “pandering” to the odd political landscape that he finds himself in.

Speculation is that political horse-trading is on-going and compromises have been struck for cabinet positions. Although by all accounts, these potential ministerial candidates are not those chosen by the “rakyat.” Instead, they are from political parties, who scarcely represent the will of the people.

Ultimately, it seems like this potential cabinet reshuffle will not be about “competent” ministers, but rather, it will be about finding compromises to appease political players. This exercise will most likely be only about keeping the unity government in power for the next four years. It has nothing to do with the wellbeing of the nation.

The Malaysian people need ministers with a combination of training, skills, experience, and knowledge that allows them to function effectively, and perform their duties efficiently. We need them to have an unstinting passion for the country; for public service; and to be committed to principled leadership.But this is wishful thinking!

I am a Malaysian of Indian origin. And often, I lament about the lack of representation for large sections of the community. As much as there are success stories with pockets of Indians in our country being competent professionals, as a whole, the community still lags way behind in economic development. Who is there to safeguard the rights of these marginalised Indians?

It is certainly not by selecting politically expedient individuals, and plonking them into the cabinet. Having an incompetent Malaysian Indian in a cabinet position is not the answer. As a Malaysian first, I would rather have a competent non-Indian representing my community’s plight, than having an incompetent Malaysian Indian in that position, whose sole aim is to enrich himself and his cronies.

The same applies to my non-Indian countrymen and women. Isn’t it time to adopt the attitude that competent Malaysians, regardless of their race or religion should be appointed to the cabinet? The question for the Prime Minister is about how we can have a leadership team that is progressive and “fit for purpose,” as opposed to falling back on traditional race-based considerations.

The Malaysian cabinet must be one that has a strong work-ethic and is able to foster a dynamic work-culture. It has to be a connected and congruent team to ensure the country has a competitive edge. We need ministers who bring everyone together, and navigate the country correctly. Only when there is ministerial competency, can we expect a high standard of governance. But looking at the Malaysian cabinet, how many competent people can we see?

It should not be a cabinet filled with members who are there as a “reward” for loyalty or support. The Anwar Ibrahim-led coalition, after the last general election, did not secure a simple majority to form the government, although it was the single largest coalition block in parliament.

This means that the people who voted for this block, did so on the back of the promise of reforms. Currently, because of the volatile nature of this unity government, many of the promised reforms have been placed on the back-burner. And, some people would even say in the rubbish bin.

For the vast majority of voters who elected 81 members of parliament from the Pakatan Harapan coalition, the promised reforms are just not forthcoming. This is leading to a crisis with voters scratching their heads and wondering whether they made the right decision to cast their vote for PH.

If the prime minister, through a choice of sterling cabinet members, demonstrates to these voters that it was indeed the right choice to “punt” for him, it will go a long way to restore some faith in this unity government.

But if once again, the backdoor to the cabinet is opened through unelected senatorial appointments, and if ministerial portfolios are filled with “has-beens,” and corruption alleged politicians, PMX will clearly signal that integrity is not a matter that he is concerned with.What matters to him is to remain in power at any cost.

With a population of approximately 34 million, Malaysia currently has a 28-member cabinet. Paradoxically, our neighbour Indonesia, while making phenomenal strides in socio-economic development, has a population of almost 280 million, yet they have a cabinet of only 34 ministers. It is not the number of ministers that is important. It is the quality of the men and women in our cabinet. I say it again. Malaysia needs competent leaders. Period. - Shankar R. Santhiram

Stop talking about changing

government any more...

BN’s candidate Amizar Abu Adam secured 7,324 votes in last weekend’s Pelangai by-election, beating PAS’ Kasim Samat with a convincing 2,949-vote majority, successfully keeping the “green wave” in check and helping BN retain the state seat.

Pelangai has always been a BN stronghold. Even with the “green wave” ravaging much of the peninsula in last year’s general election, BN’s candidate Johari Harun managed to win with an impressive majority of 4,048 votes in a four-cornered fight. That said, given PN’s strong showing in the six state elections two months back, it was generally believed that BN would still have an upper hand in Pelangai, although PN still stood a chance.

Although PN was defeated in the twin elections in Johor last month, the coalition managed to gain some new footing, and it was believed that PN would gain some forward thrust if it were to perform well in Pelangai. But at the same time, the Unity Government, in particular Umno, also needed a convincing victory to boost its depressed morale while stopping any further drain of Malay votes.

While on the surface, last weekend’s election was only a by-election for a Pahang state constituency, and the results would not affect the state administration in any way. However, from the macroscopic point of view, this by-election will offer a glimpse into how the so-called “green wave” is trending, and how solid is the collaboration between PH and BN, as well as Umno’s strength.

With the BN candidate now winning Pelangai, we can safely conclude that the “green wave” has failed to make further advances. As a matter of fact, the results of the by-elections in Johor already demonstrated that the “green wave” was ebbing, and with further retreat in a predominantly Malay constituency in Pelangai (with 73% Malay, 18% Chinese, 6% Indian and 3% other voters), this shows that Umno is able to hold on to its Malay vote bank.

Nonetheless, PH and BN must not become complacent by the sweet taste of success, as PN has indeed gained some votes while BN has seen its majority thinned by over a thousand votes.Despite the defeat, PN’s performance has been impressive. Pahang PN chairman Saifuddin Abdullah said PN had made significant headway in Felda settlements and had won more Malay votes in general, which is a hard fact, although the gain was not big enough for the coalition to wrestle Pelangai.

This is indeed where the PN bottleneck lies. Although exploiting sensitive racial and religious issues can earn the coalition some voter support and shore up its fundamental base, the same will also “scare away” other voters. We cannot rule out the possibility that some voters have turned to BN because they cannot accept PN’s ultra-conservative approach.

The by-election results also show that the cooperation between PH and BN is increasingly acceptable to the voters, and the earlier fear of massive vote drain has not materialized. PM Anwar said BN’s victory in Pelangai showed that the cooperation among parties in the Unity Government had successfully shattered the narrow-minded racism and malicious narratives, while the Chinese played a pivotal role in this by-election to contribute positively to BN’s victory.

With so many elections in the past few months (six state elections, twin by-elections in Johor and Pelangai by-election), political fatigue has evidently seeped into Malaysian society. It is now time for all parties to put aside politics and work together to boost the country’s development.

PN must stop manipulating the “change government” narrative to disrupt market sentiment and undermine political stability. PN has kept playing the “change government” card from the six state elections through the Johor twin elections and the just concluded Pelangai by-election. The reality is, the elections are now behind us, but the Unity Government is still very much alive and kicking, with no elected Pahang state reps from the Unity Government changing sides as alleged.

Well, it is up to individuals to interpret whether the “green wave” has subsided, but judging from the results of recent elections, at least at this juncture PN has failed to make major breakthroughs to rock the foundation of the Unity Government. So, stop talking about changing government, and do your part–as opposition or government–and take Malaysia forward! - Sin Chew Daily

Alasan yang diberikan oleh parti mengakui memperjuangkan agama Pas kenapa mereka tolak kerajaan Perpaduan ialah kerana dalam kerajaan itu ada DAP. DAP menurut tok kepalanya adalah klon PAP. Terbaru parti itu sedia bincang untuk berdagang dengan kerajaan Sigapura untuk jual nadir. Begitu kata timbalan tok ketua Tuituman. Apakah dia lupa yang Singapura dikuasai PAP parti yang klon DAP. Saya tak faham. Anologi saya begini, apakah Pas tak sedia makan benda klon tetapi menghalal induk asalnya. Jika keadaan ini tidak munafik apa nak dinamakan. Barangkali munafik. - mso

Meludah ke langit, jatuh ke muka dan jilat semula. Setelah terpekik terlolong kutuk DAP dan Singapura, tuduh Melayu Singapura ditindas dll, akhirnya mahu juga belajar dan berurusan dengan Cina Singapura. Mungkin pengaruh si tua penasihat atau pemimpin sebenar PN. - iammi

Apa nak diheran.. projek musang king pun dpt kt cina.... tapi salah dap... kahh kahh... camtu walaong kena bodoh... - Roslaney Abrah

Dulu kata DAP ejen PAP, loni cari PAP pula, lebai2 - Hj Kamal Tok Seh

Kata PAP abang DAP..dua2 komunis, lepas tu kutuk kaw2 DAP sama dgn PAP..tiba2 nak berkawan dgn PAP...agak2 la lobai - Mohamed Ali Al Bakri

Walaun cakap takserupa bikin - Desril Yunis

If DAP were meeting Singapore ministers the rascist PAS and BERSATU would have kicked up a stink but when they do,its ok maa... - Get some new modal