YOURSAY | Hadi rewarded as nation battens down hatches

YOURSAY | ‘A bloated cabinet plus one more, while the average M’sian is tightening his or her belt.’

Hadi appointed as special envoy to Middle East

Slumdog: In western democracies, this will be referred to a “job for the boys”, or “girls” for that matter.

This is where you appoint supporters or cronies to plumb meaningless positions as a reward or payback when you have nowhere else to put them in your government.

It is also a way to keep him out of the way. PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang fits the bill as special envoy to the Middle East (with ministerial rank).

Pokokelapa: Do we need this appointment at these trying times? Is there a pressing need at this point in time?

Simply because the prime minister needs PAS support, Hadi must be rewarded with a post. It looks like there will be more silly appointments to be made soon.

Moonwalker: Obviously, it is just a political reward to Hadi for his support to form the backdoor Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

The Covid-19 pandemic is the most pressing issue at the moment, so what kind of impact can Hadi deliver during this time of crisis as a special envoy to the Middle East?

Please give me one credible answer and I will congratulate him. Otherwise, you might as well just launch Hadi to orbit.

NNFC: Yes, it looks like an appointment not of need but to please the incumbent. We must stop this politics of patronage, which can be construed as inefficient, a waste and unethical.

Fuminghot: Isn’t the cabinet of 70 ministers and deputy ministers enough?

The rakyat is facing unemployment and the scrooge of the coronavirus but the PN government is all out to reward its supporters.

For heaven's sake, cut down the expenses. Everyone is worried about the economy whilst the backdoor boys seem to gloat over their newfound power. Only God can save Malaysia.

Anonymous 2465861491622056: Another minister in PN government. There are a number of PN MPs who are not given any portfolios. Please appoint them to some positions as otherwise, they may not support PN.

While a large number of rakyat did not receive their salaries last month, the PN government is creating more positions for politicians, and of course, paying civil servants more.

Darmakochi: A bloated cabinet plus one more, while the average Malaysian is tightening his or her belt.

Maybe this government can reveal what is each and every one of the ministers in the cabinet really doing. Morning, you wake up and at night, you go to sleep. In the meantime, what actual work are you really doing?

Flabberpro: How will this special envoy to the Middle East position help the country economically? With his new ministerial status, is Hadi here to serve all Malaysians regardless of race and religion?

The Middle East is not doing very well now that oil prices are plummeting southwards again. So, what is so strategic about his appointment?

I hope it is not because Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is trying to shore up unnecessary political support. Prove me wrong though.

Fairman: Yet another MP who will enjoy the perks of a minister and what a waste of public funds.

So what are the roles of Hishammuddin Hussein, the foreign minister, and Zulkifli Mohamed Al-Bakri, the Minister in the PM's Department in charge of religious affairs?

FairMalaysian: Can the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) share with us what Hadi will be doing as "special envoy"?

We have a minister, also in the PM’s Department in charge of Islamic affairs, and we have a foreign minister, who himself a Muslim. Muhyiddin already has a jumbo-sized cabinet.

What to do? They can do what they like because they are not answerable to voters anymore.

We shouldn't leave it to parties to scrutinise and nominate candidates for elections. Their allegiance is questionable, and we can only sit and watch.

Are we such fools that we allow them to get away with this heinous act?

Clever Voter: This is a strategic move, and the right one. The point is that Hadi is a liability and adds no value to what Muhyiddin has in mind.

Hadi may be flattered but he will realise soon enough that Saudi Arabia is a friend of United States. So is Egypt and even Iraq. He probably has not much to do, let alone influence them.

Vgeorgemy: On a serious note, the cabinet post is beneficial to the ummah if Hadi can bring peace and stability in the Middle East by negotiating with various warring parties in Yemen, Syria, Libya and Iraq for a start.

Such places will flourish economically as all the countries in the Middle East have more than enough wealth to buy our primary products such as palm oil, forestry, halal food products and manufactured goods.

We hope Hadi’s appointment will bring in prosperity not only to the Middle East but also to Malaysia.

Constitutional Supremacy: Muhyiddin clearly does not care for the country. His only concern appears to entrench himself even if the country fails economically. He is rewarding supporters left and right.

Look at his appointments. He appointed all Bersatu MPs as ministers or deputy ministers. All but one Azmin Ali’s people are ministers and deputy ministers.

PBS and Star have one spot each. Then he appointed a large number of Umno MPs in the cabinet too. PAS was similarly rewarded.

This resulted in a bloated government – 32 ministers and 69 deputy ministers. Now he appoints another “minister” - Hadi as Middle East envoy.

Annonymous: Millions of Malaysians are losing their jobs, families are crying and begging for food, suffering SMEs are getting no help and going bankrupt, the economy is dying and Covid-19 is ravaging the country, oil revenue has plunged, the ringgit is freefalling, the country’s debts are skyrocketing, more cash is thrown and wasted on the fully employed civil servants, the jobless rate is escalating, but these supremacists are inflating the already largest cabinet in the world and appointing more useless "ministers" with huge salaries paid by taxpayers at the expense of the suffering rakyat.

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