PH leaders criticise new Cabinet's size and direction

PETALING JAYA (March 10): Pakatan Harapan leaders criticised the large size and lack of direction of the Perikatan Nasional Cabinet appointed by new Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as created merely to please the parties involved, the Star reported today.

The report cited former Federal Territories minister Khalid Samad saying the 70 posts compared to 55 under the previous Pakatan government showed that it was a Cabinet where “everyone gets their piece”.

The Parti Amanah Negara strategic communications chief said the Cabinet composition also did not represent the multiracial make-up of Malaysians.

“The Cabinet also has no clear direction and policies, other than to bring down Pakatan and become a government. There is no manifesto that drives this Cabinet.

“This government will be a government that is riddled with kleptocrats and traitors. It will undo all the good that Pakatan has done in the past, ” he said.

The report said Khalid also described the Cabinet as a backdoor Cabinet that denied the people’s mandate, which was given to Pakatan in the last general election.

“The validity of the number of MPs who support this government is still being questioned.

“Therefore, the validity of this government from the legal perspective is also being doubted, ” he said, adding that this needed to be tested in Parliament via a no-confidence vote as soon as possible.

According to the Star, former Deputy Women, Family and Community Development minister Hannah Yeoh questioned what would happen to the ministry’s roadmap to fight child marriage with the appointment of a PAS lawmaker as its deputy minister.

She was referring to the appointment of PAS women’s wing chief Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff as her successor.

Yeoh said Muhyiddin’s new line-up, which did not include a Deputy Prime Minister, showed that former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was irreplaceable.

“A woman DPM in @drwanazizah is irreplaceable. His new line-up confirms it, ” she said on her Twitter.

In another post aimed at new National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique, Yeoh tweeted: “All the best leading a ministry like this by a coalition of religious and race-based parties.”

The Star also highlighted DAP’s Beruas MP Ngeh Koo Ham who tweeted that with 70 posts compared to Pakatan’s 55, more money from the public purse was being spent on feeding the Cabinet line-up.

The Star pointed out that former Youth and Sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, however, had something different to say.

He congratulated his successor and tweeted his good wishes to new Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican and his deputy Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, who was his former aide.

“All the best carrying out your duties and serving as best as you can for the future of the youth and development of national sports!” the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia youth chief posted on his Twitter.

The Star said PKR communications director and Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil also congratulated Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa and his deputy Datuk Seri Dr Edmund Santhara Kumar.

“I hope you can implement policies that will help the urban poor to escape poverty, build more low-income housing and improve the effectiveness of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s services, ” he said on Twitter.

Fahmi also put a humorous note in congratulating Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Religious Affairs Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri on his appointment.

“All the best in carrying out your duties. You are a fair-minded man, although you support Liverpool,” wrote Fahmi.

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