The current Malaysian cabinet comprising 30 ministers and 38 deputy ministers are far too many for effective administration, warned an economic think-thank.
Presenting its case for a slimmer cabinet, Research for Social Advancement (REFSA) said such as "tangled mess of 68 ministers and deputies" only made coordination more difficult, as was proved in the controversy surrounding the Automatic Enforcement System (AES).
"The AES fiasco where the Ministry of Transport obviously had not consulted the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Attorney-General on a matter as simple as traffic enforcement is an example of a
shocking communication breakdown within our Cabinet," wrote a focus paper prepared by REFSA's executive director Teh Chi-Chang and researcher Ong Kar Jin.
It also questioned the need for six cabinet ministers without portfolio under the Prime Minister’s Department, in addition to four deputy ministers.
"In comparison, there is only one Minister without Portfolio in the UK Cabinet, and her role is well defined and essential in the context of the current coalition government there," it added.
According to REFSA, studies have shown that the adage "less is more" could well apply in the matter of a country's cabinet size, citing studies showing that the highly ranked countries in terms of development have slimmer cabinets.
In Malaysia's case, REFSA proposed that the current cabinet be trimmed to 16.
"We suggest that our corpulent Cabinet of 25 ministries, 30 ministers and 38 deputy ministers be trimmed to a svelte 16 ministries, 18 ministers and no deputy ministers," it said.
But the process to reform the cabinet can be in stages.
"Instead of entire ministries immediately being scrapped or merged, the existing ministries are retained, but with some ministers holding multiple ministries that will ultimately be merged," the paper added, before giving an illustrated scenario of how a slimmer cabinet would look like.
"Streamlining the Cabinet will also free up resources that can be used to govern our country more effectively. For a start, some of the ministerial talent and civil service resources presently tripping over each other in the bloated Cabinet can be allocated to authoritative Cabinet Committees. These Cabinet Com
-Harakahdaily
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.