Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh has questioned the omission of outgoing Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Azalina Othman Said from the newly announced cabinet of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Leading the chorus of criticism that indicated Ismail Sabri's cabinet was too similar to that of outgoing prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Yeoh tweeted it was "just the same old composition of #KerajaanGagal" and that the same politicians were rotating office in Putrajaya.
"Ismail Sabri's cabinet is nothing more inspiring than Muhyiddin's cabinet," she said.
"Children will have no reliable spokesperson and how can Azalina be excluded? I now want Ismail Sabri to make Azalina speaker for greater check and balance."
Yeoh also questioned why the Federal Territories minister post went from Kelantanese Annuar Musa (Umno-Ketereh) to Shahidan Kassim (Umno-Arau) of Perlis, and said that "KL needs a KL voice!"
Meanwhile, former minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman described the new appointments as a wasted opportunity to appoint good individuals, naming Azalina and Umno Youth leaders Asyraf Wajdi Dasuki and Shahril Hamdan, among others.
"Umno supposedly wanted to replace Muhyiddin's failed government, but when Umno has the power to appoint a new cabinet, the same thing is done.
"This is #KerajaanGagal 2.0.
"Why reappoint ministers who are clearly not performing well? Why are leaders with bad records still part of this government?" he asked on Facebook.
He said it was as if Muhyiddin's government took leave for about two weeks before returning to duty.
Ismail Sabri this morning unveiled his cabinet line-up which is set to be sworn in next Monday (Aug 30).
Many key positions such as that of finance, home, education, transport, works, and human resources saw the same faces retained from Muhyiddin's line-up.
There is also no deputy prime minister named, with four "senior ministers" similar to Muhyiddin's cabinet.
Ismail Sabri said the cabinet's main task is to tackle Covid-19 and heal the economy and that each minister must also prove their performance within the first 100 days in office.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng didn't mince his words saying the "announcement of the new cabinet line-up with an almost identical line-up as the previous failed government has disappointed many who expected some fresh faces to find new solutions to the current Covid-19 pandemic and economic recession".
"The return of the recycled cabinet of the previously failed PN (Perikatan Nasional) government will put into doubt the commitment of the new prime minister...
"It will also raise scrutiny whether Ismail is genuine about undertaking concrete institutional reforms to protect our democratic and constitutional rights as expressed during the meeting with Harapan's three top leaders two days ago," Lim said in a statement today.
Citing yesterday's record-high figures of 24,599 Covid-19 cases and 393 deaths, Lim said the current government must stop the previous failures of double standards in enforcement, policy flip-flops, U-turns in SOPs, and vaccination delivery delays, while having to implement robust testing programmes and mass screenings.
"It is imperative that we do not forget the lessons of the past so as not to repeat the failures of the previous prime minister," he added.
Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub concurred, saying Ismail Sabri's cabinet appeared to be more focused on political survival, not on the people's and the economy's survival.
"The old song is just re-arranged. At a glance, this line-up is just a reshuffle from the old list.
"The political drama presented a few weeks ago seems to provide an anti-climax ending. Some ministers who failed to carry out their duties well are still given roles, and some who have no direct experience are appointed to the cabinet," he said.
The Pulai MP also hit out at Ismail Sabri for not reducing the size of the cabinet.
Salahuddin added that "the failure of the previous government should not be inherited by this new government. These appointments can be seen to maintain support for the PM. It is unfortunate if these efforts and games are done solely for political purposes and not to prioritise the interests of the people.
"Failure to line up competent individuals and those who have a good track record will hamper the country's recovery in the future," he added.
PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan said the whole appointment was very anti-climatic.
"The biggest mistake Ismail Sabri made is making the announcement live. Hype but what a disappointment for the rakyat. There was hardly any change.
"The only significant change was Khairy made the health minister while retaining all the controversial ministers.
"And it is still a fat cabinet. Big and bulky," he told Malaysiakini.
Non-performers not punished, says Tanjung Malim MP
Meanwhile, PKR's Tanjung Malim MP Cheah Lih Kang was critical of the reappointments of Azmin Ali, Radzi Jidin and Rina Harun.
"Azmin and Radzi had both failed miserably in managing their ministries during the pandemic. But both of them are back to their respective ministries and maintain their senior ministership.
"Another minister who had invited numerous criticisms during her tenure was Rina Harun. Unfortunately, she is being restored to the very same Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development," he said.
He also took aim at the appointment of Hishammuddin Hussein as defence minister, saying he had done a poor job when he held that position in the previous BN administration.
PKR treasurer-general Lee Cheang Chung was sarcastic about the move of Dr Adham Baba from the health minister post to the science, technology, and innovation minister post.
"Here is a man who touted warm water as a treatment for Covid-19 and said that there were 500 countries in the world," tweeted Lee.
Warisan's Sepanggar MP Azis Jamman, a former deputy minister in the Pakatan Harapan government chimed in, saying, "My opinion is this... it is basically a mere change of curtains in a room."
"Same old #kerajaangagal. You can already guess who are the biggest losers of the whole episode." - Mkini
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