Yoursay: The Harapan cabinet that barely makes the grade

YOURSAY | The people have spoken, but will the cabinet take heed of the assessment?

Yoursay: Harapan ministers - how do they fare?

Newday: It is now 19 months since the change of government. It appears we need to be reminded of what was inherited - essentially a government system that was dysfunctional in just about every respect.

Public servants always bent to the will of ministers, their cronies, and became as corrupted in the process. Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor's tenure as federal territories minister comes to mind – the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) was used as his personal real estate office; just the tip of a self-serving government.

When assessing ministers' performance, it is only fair to set some context of what was inherited. This is not an overnight fix. Well over 70 percent of the ministers never had government experience before. They spent many years warming opposition benches. So it is to be expected that their performance is far from perfect.

That said, the poll appears to be an accurate reflection of their performance. Those in the bottom five need some serious scrutiny, and potentially should be re-shuffled out of their cabinet posts.

Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali – there are many questions as to his morals and ethics. His ministry apparently underspent 40 percent of its budget; economic affairs equals getting the money flowing and this obviously did not happen.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman needs to be reminded that the world of Twitter is not his office.

Mohamaddin Ketapi may be the most uninspiring tourism arts and culture minister ever. He always appears to be tired and disinterested. This ministry screams out for a dynamic person at the helm who wears his tourism and arts passion on his sleeve. It screams for someone who has a liberal and global outlook.

Education Minister Maszlee Malik – our education system does not need a person with an Islamic education background to reform the curriculum. No matter how hard he tries, he can never have a truly global education outlook that aims to reconnect our students with the world at large. Look at all his advisers - not one with a liberal, secular-based education among them.

Malayan Boey: I think the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) public relations team needs to do more. The public seems unaware of the hard work being done by this ministry in successfully attracting FDI (foreign direct investment) for Malaysia.

This is in spite of the country's reputation and investment climate being constantly undermined by the prime minister - India, China, Singapore, now Saudi Arabia and its allies.

The uncertainty of a "permanent" head of government with a clear and long-term policy direction for businesses does not help in building confidence among both local and overseas investors.

Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok does not deserve a "failed" rating. Market forces drive the demand for and value of our primary commodities. Our economy remains largely based on export of raw materials rather than added-value products from our raw materials.

But to suggest this, it would mean encroaching into the portfolio of Redzuan Yusof, the entrepreneurial czar. Redzuan looks outside rather than build on and take advantage of what we have inside. He truly deserves his lowest performance ranking.

Mohamaddin is too low profile for his portfolio after the flamboyant Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz. Nevertheless, he has allowed the Sabah tourism industry to flourish and Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) to remain the second busiest international airport in Malaysia despite KKIA being constrained by the number and length of its runways due to the short-sightedness of the previous Musa Aman government.

Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar should have received a much lower rating. The continuing contamination of Malaysia's environment, including our water resources, rests squarely on his ministry's lack of oversight and enforcement; not Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin.

Anonymous 2315071437551281: A government's duty is to bring economic prosperity and social well-being. In doing so, the government formulates policies and implement these policies with economic, regulatory, prescriptive and persuasive strategies.

Judging from this, Harapan's cabinet has failed miserably. Nonetheless, some ministers like Transport Minister Anthony Loke and Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo have been trying hard to fulfil their duties.

Clever Voter: Focusing on the bottom 20 percent, we have Redzuan, Maszlee, Azmin, Syed Saddiq, Mohamaddin, National Unity Minister P Waythamoorthy and possibly Rural Development Minister Rina Harun. But if we apply not meeting expectations, then we would easily have more than 50 percent of the cabinet.

It is a steep climb for the government to regain its credibility. These individuals are trivial in their thinking, parochial in their outlook and unimpressive in their ideas.

Current and future complexity demands leveraging on diversity, restoring the centre of politics, ethics and compassion. The people have outgrown them, slowly but surely.

Sarawak4Malaysian: It is tragic that the readers think so lowly of ministers who hold critical portfolios. The PM, economic affairs and home ministers are seen with such low esteem because they are perceived to be doing nothing, or making matters worse for the people.

The worst thing about the report card is that they will not do a thing to improve. They will just spew platitudes that they will do better. Unless something miraculous happens, this government will get an ‘F’ on all subjects.

Apanakdikato: Indeed, when the most critical portfolios such as the PMship, education, and economic affairs are under individuals who have been rated as the worst among the whole cabinet, then something is critically wrong about this government.

Bravemalaysian: The results reflect accurately the feelings and perception of the Malaysian rakyat.

Those who scored less than 50 percent should consider resigning as they are not up to the mark.

Those below 30 percent should be sacked immediately, and that includes the PM who has become an absolute liability.

He once said that he will step down once he is no longer wanted. The results show clearly he is no longer wanted. Please honour your word and step down, Mr PM.

Vijay47: Like I always suspected, polls and surveys can easily be manipulated. I mean, look at the figures for Maszlee - he scored 16 percent, which suggests that apart from his mother, wife, children, and the Perlis mufti, there were others who actually voted for him.

Avicenna: The reason certain ministers form the majority of those with less than 30 percent approval is that they can never put aside their religious and racial preoccupation, and focus on the job. The bottom five, Mohamaddin aside, wear their Malay pride on their sleeves.

Anon Two: Unfortunately for the young people seeking a balanced and superior education, Maszlee wins second-last place.

Mahathir is not about to reorganise the cabinet. He needs a few fools lower in ranking than him to burnish his image.

Anonymous_2d09ced0: In most democratic countries, the buck stops at the top. The top should take responsibility and step aside. After all, the PM selects the cabinet.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.