Cabinet - Not simply by 'quota'/deals but choose by capability/qualification?

Well, we have a new Prime Minister ...and now, comes the question of appointing the Cabinet, which hopefully is much smaller...

Newly-minted Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad should appoint a capable cabinet which can address national needs and international demands, says Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail.In congratulating Dr Mahathir as the seventh Malaysian prime minister, Razali hoped that future cabinet ministers would not be appointed based purely on political party calculations.

What is hoped is that the Cabinet posts not be allocated by party 'quotas' or by virtue of leadership positions held in the component parties - but rather by choosing the most qualified to carry out the relevant functions of the Ministry.. Some party Presidents and leaders may not be the best choice for Cabinet positions..

In the case of Pakatan Harapan, it is most important there is a leadership Council of sorts that will always oversee and monitor the Prime Minister, and other Menteri Besar/Chief Ministers of State Government. As such, it is always best that they do not end up in Cabinet...(which ultimately is the Prime Minister's team to govern, as such in Cabinet, their power to keep PM, MB and/or CM is diminished. A Cabinet position also means that thy will be focusing mainly on the area that their relevant Ministry is concerned with - when a 'Leadership Council' of Pakatan Leaders should be independently monitoring all governments of Pakatan Harapan both Federal and State. To simply allow individual MB/CM to do as they please would be most unwise.

  

It may be wise to simply have a small functional Cabinet for a start.The Cabinet could always easily be expanded at a later date - hence no need to have too big a Cabinet immediately...Of course, Najib's style was to have a large Cabinet - thus reducing the number of BN backbenchers, who had the role of playing a 'check and balance' function of the executive(PM and Cabinet) in Parliament... 

The previous UMNO-BN government saw Cabinet positions as positions of 'power and influence' which may have been exploited for wrong reasons, it could also be used to appease the appetites of component parties - and also for bargaining purposes. Hence, we found many Ministers(and even Deputy Ministers) who were really not good which affected also the performance of their Ministry - and will also affect the credibility and image of the government.

First, there really must be a serious discussion in Pakatan Harapan - on how the old government organisation could be simplified. Now, for certain aspects, there is a requirement for going through not one but 2 Ministries.

What really are the most important Ministries - Home, Finance, Education, Health, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Workers Ministry(or even the old name 'Labour Minister' was better that HR Minister), Agriculture and Fisheries, 

Really, we should not have a 'HUMAN RESOURCE' Minister - that indicates no concern for the ordinary Malaysian worker and their wellbeing - but seems to simply cater to an employer's need - 'human resource'. It implies workers are mere commodity - not human beings.

For sure, the Prime Minister should not be the Finance Minister. In fact, he should also not be the Home Minister too. After all, the Prime Minister is at the end of the day responsible for all Ministries, and the Cabinet is his/her representative put in charge of particular Ministry. 

There is certainly no need for a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department. It is better to simply have a Minister of Special Functions to handle areas not covered by existing Ministries..

Hopefully, the new Pakatan Harapan government will not simply follow the 'old ways' of UMNO-BN...

SUHAKAM(Malaysian Human Rights Commission) also raises this concern...

Appoint a capable cabinet, says Suhakam

PETALING JAYA: Newly-minted Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad should appoint a capable cabinet which can address national needs and international demands, says Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail.

In congratulating Dr Mahathir as the seventh Malaysian prime minister, Razali hoped that future cabinet ministers would not be appointed based purely on political party calculations.

"Malaysia has not had altogether an illustrious set of ministers that meet the criteria of 'fit for purpose' and Suhakam looks for improvement," Razali said in a statement issued on Thursday (May 10).

Razali reminded Dr Mahathir to keep his election promises, which includes commitments to human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Razali said that the 14th General Election had shown that Malaysians are now demanding for governance which would involve multiple stakeholders, not one that is elitist oriented.

"Suhakam has not enjoyed a mutually reinforcing relationship with the Government, and wants a functioning relationship with Parliament, including the latter debating Suhakam's Annual Reports."

Razali also proposed for the Government to examine the shortcomings and discrepancies of the 14th General Election.

He added that the present form of the Election Commission must be revamped in order to be on par with other democratic countries. - Star,10/5/2018