COMMENT: Umno's rank and file sizes up new Cabinet
ABDUL RAZAK AHMAD
February 19, 2006
New Straits Times

Feb 19: The recent Cabinet reshuffle surprised many with its omissions and inclusions. ABDUL RAZAK AHMAD finds out what the Umno members make of the new team.

ANNOUNCED by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday, the line-up is his second Cabinet, following the one appointed after the 2004 general election.

This second Abdullah Cabinet, formed 27 months into his premiership, has surprised many including Umno members.

"Some in the party were expecting more new faces to be ministers," says Pahang Umno Bera division chief Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob, when asked about feedback from the grass roots.

"It was not only from my division," says the Bera Member of Parliament. "I spoke with party members from other divisions on Tuesday after the line-up was announced and they, too, felt the same."

Then there was the decision to retain some members of the administration, which also ran counter to popular prediction.

Many, for example, believed Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, whose handling of the Approved Permits issue landed her in controversy, was in for a transfer to another ministry.

"Many in the grass roots felt her seniority and position as Wanita Umno chief meant perhaps Pak Lah would not drop her but transfer her to another portfolio. That did not materialise," says Ismail.

"Some in the party read the administration's emphasis on positive changes as a signal that the reshuffle was going to be radical," says Perak's Lumut division chief Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

"The feeling among some seems to be that this new Cabinet lacks the necessary oomph" is how Alor Star division committee member Guntor Tobeng puts it.

"With many talking about glaring controversies in several ministries in the past few months, some expected massive changes in the Cabinet, so it was a bit of an anti-climax," says Ramli Mohd Yunus, Kedah's Pokok Sena division committee member.

Despite falling short of predictions, Ismail, Zambry, Guntor and Ramli emphasise that the line-up still commands solid support from the grass roots.

"They are not saying the Cabinet is incapable, just that many of the appointments are unexpected," says Ismail.

Meanwhile, Johor Umno Youth chief Razali Ibrahim was initially hesitant to comment.

"I've received all sorts of unsolicited comments about who Pak Lah should have appointed," says the Muar MP.

"I suppose that even if Pak Lah changed 20 ministers, people will still say he should have done it differently."

A Cabinet reshuffle that falls short of some people's predictions is no big deal.

But the sentiments of any significant section of the grass roots among Umno's over three million members carry special weight.

Two-thirds, or 21 of Malaysia's 32-member Cabinet, are from the party. Umno also provides nearly half, or 18, of the 39 deputy ministers, and nine of the 19 parliamentary secretaries.

The appointments are the sole prerogative of the Prime Minister. But past appointments tended to be proportionately divided among Barisan Nasional component parties and among the States.

In Umno, the convention has also been for ministers to be picked mainly from the ranks of the supreme council, the highest decision-making body in the party.

Some of the surprise stems from the concerns of some that traditional Umno considerations in the appointment of Cabinet members - striking a balance between State and supreme council interests while promoting potential future party leaders - did not appear to be so strictly followed this time around.

This worry seems to be the source of much of the debate among Umno members about the new Cabinet, but is it valid?

Zambry reasons that it is not true to say new faces from Umno aren't making it into the Cabinet.

"Many newcomers made it into the Cabinet that was formed following the last general election in 2004," he says, citing figures such as Datuk Azalina Othman Said, a first-time MP appointed as Youth and Sports Minister.

Other promising figures in their 40s who were included in the 2004 line-up are Energy, Water and Communications Deputy Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor and parliamentary secretaries including Higher Education's Datuk Dr Adham Baba and Natural Resources and Environment's Datuk Sazmi Miah.

"And, like it or not, seniors like Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid, who lost in the supreme council election but remains in the Cabinet, as well as others like Rafidah, are very experienced performers who have all the qualities that the Prime Minister requires," says Guntor.

Others are lamenting what they feel to be imbalances in terms of Umno's State representation in the Cabinet.

"Some grouses are over how States like Selangor and the Federal Territories appear imbalanced in terms of Cabinet representation," says Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia political science lecturer Dr Mohammad Agus Yusoff.

The departure of Higher Education Minister Datuk Dr Shafie Mohd Salleh, for example, leaves Selangor Umno, which has 22 divisions, with no ministers.

The much smaller Federal Territories Umno, which has 13 divisions, on the other hand, has three full ministers - Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor in Tourism, Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique who was appointed Federal Territories Minister and Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who retained her post as Women, Family and Community Development Minister.

"It appears lopsided, but the fact is, the Federal Territory performed well in the 1999 general election compared with some other States, so that is how we should be looking at why some States have more Cabinet representatives," notes Guntor.

"The Prime Minister had to take into account many factors, and I feel he primarily needs a team that has the capability to help him carry out the upcoming Ninth Malaysia Plan," says Razali.

Universiti Utara Malaysia political analyst Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak concurs. The Prime Minister, he says, cannot make his decisions merely by selecting popular party leaders or state Umno strongmen; he needs a team that can deliver the goods.

The State-level Umno liaison committees must, therefore, ensure their short-list of potential parliamentary candidates in future general elections comprises those who have all the qualities the Prime Minister needs.

"Just being popular and influential in the party is no longer enough.

"Umno needs to supply many more MPs who are capable, highly qualified and truly ministerial material, so that the Prime Minister will have a larger pool to select from," says Mustafa.

"If there is one lesson Umno can take into account from this whole episode, then it is the importance of enhancing the capacity-building agenda in the party."

Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Sunday/Columns/NST40856878.txt/Article/index_html