YOURSAY | So this is the best of Ismail Sabri’s 114 MPs

YOURSAY | ‘His choice was limited to a pool of underperformers and has-beens.’

PM has limited choice in cabinet line-up: Bersatu minister

Goliath: Bersatu minister Abdul Latiff Ahmad said that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had to reappoint old faces to his new cabinet from a “limited choice” of 114 MPs who supported the Umno vice-president to become premier.

But the PM has always had a choice. The choice is about doing what’s right for the country and not about keeping the coalition parties happy and satisfied.

The choice is about making sure the country is run by very able individuals and not appointing the same ministers who failed to show any results in the past 17 months.

If this government cares about the welfare and health of the people and the country, there is always the more courageous step to appoint people with no baggage nor any hidden political agenda to do what’s right, especially those who are skilled and knowledgeable.

It’s about having a quality cabinet, not the quantity of those in it.

Choices are aplenty; it is whether the PM has the courage to put his job on the line, no matter how short it may be, for the sake of the country. It is as simple as that.

Oriole: What sort of idiot cabinet requires 69 ministers and deputy ministers for a country of 33 million?

Stop lying to the public and admit that this is a reward system for political support. Get rid of the deputies. Reduce the salaries and show some concern for a nation in trouble.

Stop making excuses about choices. You are talking to many citizens with no jobs and no way of feeding their families or keeping the roof over their heads. Crime rates will go up, abuse of the vulnerable and suicides are on the rise.

In such a reality, it is a bit tone deaf for you to be talking about lack of choices when referring to an overfed cabinet bestowing goodies on itself.

FairMalaysian: Latiff's remark flies in the face of a bloated cabinet.

It is not as much that Ismail Sabri has to go with a shopping list to grab everything on the shelf. In such lean times, the justification will be to have a smaller cabinet that would invariably reduce the expenditure bill.

Why would the government need so many ministers and deputy ministers when business for them is not as usual?

OCT: It is not that the PM had a limited choice. In fact, the PM had no choice as he had to appease his supporters.

When a PM was selected through this basis, all rationale for selections based on competency, capabilities and expertise are ignored. The PM cannot rock the boat.

In fact, the selection of Ismail Sabri as PM was not based on his own capabilities, credentials, track records and success stories. The position of PM is, and will be, under constant threat or blackmail from his supporters. The PM is facing the same problem as former premier Muhyiddin Yassin did.

Now that Bersatu has become the kingmaker, it can make demands to Ismail Sabri anytime, any day and anywhere. Bersatu can tell Umno two can play the same trick.

It will be no surprise to see Bersatu’s Azmin Ali become PM too when the party pulls out support for Ismail Sabri a few months later. This is the result of a government that has a small margin of majority and one party with enough seats to be the kingmaker.

This issue can be resolved by having a general election.

Redmann: He was promising a "family government" of sorts, but refused the opposition any traction except in Parliament. The opposition, being a powerful check and balance in government, should not be left out of the affairs of state.

This "family government" gimmick is nothing but a band-aid treatment when major surgery is required.

Never in the history of Malaysia has parliamentary procedures, constitutionalism and the rule of law been sabotaged and destroyed like the debacle we witnessed over the resignations and appointments of two prime ministers.

How difficult is it to amend the Federal Constitution to make provisions for accommodating the opposition in the running of government when no single party or a coalition of parties are able to form a government unless party-hopping is occasioned?

Amadeus: PAS’ reappointed deputy minister for religious affairs, Ahmad Marzuk Shaary, said: “Reappointment of old faces was meant to continue good policies implemented from the previous administration.”

Good policies? What good policies? Having an ineffective bloated government is considered a good policy? Allowing factories to operate when the pandemic was raging is another good policy?

How about allowing ministers to flout standard operating procedures (SOPs) but the rakyat are fined without any consideration; is that another good policy?

Let’s not forget allowing interstate travel which caused a surge of infections last year, which we haven't managed to curb and no screening of returnees from the Sabah polls.

"But the fact remains that the people will accept the cabinet although it was rejected by some opposition leaders,” he said. You think so? No sane rakyat would.

The next 100 days won’t be any different from the previous 500 plus days of mismanagement of the rakyat's health and the economy.

The rakyat will have to endure this hardship until GE15 and see our loved ones die, be it from Covid-19 or from despair - despair from poverty which isn’t their doing.

Amirhamzahamha: Exactly. You had 114 MPs to choose from, and this is the best you can deliver? Is this the absolute best this government can offer? Recycling has limits too!

AlicesCat: Indeed, his choice was limited to underperformers in a pool of more underperformers and has-beens. Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin is the only bright spot. And there is his political survival to consider. Sigh!

BlackDeer5241: Since ministers are largely chosen from elected MPs (aside from few appointed senators), it’s imperative that voters elect quality MPs and reject MPs without qualifications and experience in their related fields.

Specifically reject those who are mere warlords who are there for the gravy train and supporting their party leaders. If not, you can scream and shout but the same MPs without proven abilities will continue to helm Parliament.

In other words, vote for “qualified” MPs rather than along party lines. Of course, if the party you support put up quality MPs, then it makes your choice easier.

Max Fury: In a raging storm, if I could change the crew members to competent ones, I would. At least, I would have a better chance of surviving.

Keeping the incompetent ones on board will surely sink the ship.

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