By Niza Shimi
If the tense wait for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s (PM10) unveiling of his Cabinet is any indication, we’re in for a crazy ride for don’t know how long. Better get the meds ready.
After a week of guessing games, PM10 hinted his Cabinet would be named Friday evening. News circulated that it would be announced at 5 pm. Then, the time was changed to 6 pm. Then again changed to 8.15 pm. If you are hypertensive, you’d be in trouble.
The PM himself explained that he had been to Putrajaya in the morning, then flew to Perak where he had an audience with the Sultan. He then visited his new constituency of Tambun where his triumph was as gigantic as his posters.
After that, he travelled to Putrajaya. He said the press conference was scheduled for 8.15 pm but some overzealous person miscommunicated the time. Whatever the reason, everyone was hyped up about the Cabinet line-up like never before.
This is the first time Malaysia has had a Unity Government made up of Pakatan Harapan - PH (Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Democratic Action Party and Parti Amanah Negara), Barisan Nasional – BN (United Malays National Organisation, Malaysian Chinese Association and Malaysian Indian Congress) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak - GPS.
It is indeed a historic event. Then came the announcement of the Cabinet by PM10. As had been rumoured, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was named as one of the Deputy Prime Ministers.
Considering that PH campaigned along the lines of “a vote for KJ is a vote for Zahid”, it must have sunk heavily for voters. I suppose, with this Unity Government, a vote for PH is indeed a vote for BN and vice versa. Everyone is finding it hard to digest this new reality.
Then came another shocker. PH candidate who won the Kuala Selangor seat, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad was overlooked for a Cabinet post. He had been the Minister of Health in the short-lived PH government (2018-2020).
Instead, his defeated opponent Tengku Zafrul Aziz was named as Minister of International Trade and Industry. Tengku Zafrul took his oath as Senator in the Dewan Negara this morning.
There were a few odd moments such as when PM10 named himself as Finance Minister. As political economist Terence Edmund Gomez writes, “it was not advisable for the prime minister to also be finance minister, especially from the point of good governance and the need to provide checks and balances, which Anwar has long advocated.”
But these are extraordinary times.
According to Free Malaysia Today, Anwar’s Cabinet is made of MPs from Pakatan Harapan (15) through PKR, DAP, Amanah and Upko; Barisan Nasional (6) through Umno; Gabungan Parti Sarawak (5) through PBB, PRS and PDP; and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (1) through Sabah Bersatu. (FMT)
If you look at the illustration drawn by famed graphic artist Fahmi Redza, piecing the Cabinet does indeed looks like a game of political Tetris. It must have been hard to ensure the pieces fall into place.
But Dr Norshahril Saat, Senior Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and Coordinator, thinks PM10 was a bit hasty in naming his Cabinet and that Anwar needed to explain his controversial choices.
She pointed out, “The other key observation is that the Chinese-based multiracial Democratic Action Party (DAP) did not feature strongly in this Cabinet. The first PH government under Mahathir (from 2018 to 2020) was even bolder in rewarding the DAP.”
Could the Cabinet appointments of PM10 be a shrewd game of political Tetris or is it just a clever ruse to deter his detractors?
Niza Shimi is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav.
Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
Newswav is solely an aggregation platform and hosts the content. The views expressed and content above including media (pictures, videos, etc) were provided by the author. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
