Najib told to sack half of his ministers

The Federal Cabinet is as disastrous as the floods, says Umno critic.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Cabinet has proven to be a disaster, a popular blogger and Umno critic has declared.

In his latest blog entry, Shahbudin Husin notes that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has had to order holidaying ministers to return immediately to take part in handling the crisis brought on by heavy flooding in the East Coast.

They should have been sensitive enough to cut short their overseas vacation at the first sign of a crisis and without having to be told, he says.

“That they need to be summoned back like ducks that have forgotten their nests is as much a disaster as the floods and the loss of flights MH370 and MH17,” he writes.

He says the ministers, some of whom he names, apparently do not care that Najib needs them not only to assist in managing the flood crisis, but also to help improve the battered image of his administration.

“Only by dismissing at least half of the ministers and replacing them with trustworthy new faces will it be even possible for Najib to bring back a little shine to himself, Umno and BN so that they can maintain their power,” he says.

“If he’s still reluctant to throw them out, he, together with these useless ministers, should prepare to pack up and go.”

He says it is disastrous that Malaysia is saddled with ministers who do not seem to understand that their primary task is to serve the people.

He notes that it was only on the second day of his return that Najib directed the ministers to cut short their holidays “in London, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai and China”. This was probably after he realised that only a handful of ministers were in the country, he adds.

Shahbudin says the errant ministers include those eyeing the Prime Minister’s position, such as Umno vice presidents Zahid Hamidi, Shafie Abdal and Hishammuddin Hussein.

“Similarly,” he adds, “Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, who is considered by some to be the second echelon candidate for the Prime Minister’s position, has also disappeared without a trace to the extent that posters proclaiming his absence are strewn across social media.”

He says there are only a handful of ministers in the country and it’s the same faces who are struggling to help flood victims in the various states.