‘Najib a prime ministerial dictator’

DAP's Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong says that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's cabinet holds no power as the the latter's office wields enormous power.

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s new cabinet lineup would only serve to consolidate his position as a “prime ministerial dictator”, said a DAP leader today.

DAP’s political education director Liew Chin Tong said Najib himself has rendered the cabinet irrelevent by placing a third of ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department (PMO).

“The powers concentrated in the PMO have certainly become the envy of other Commonwealth countries. With the office being responsible for almost everything under the sun, there is practically no need for a cabinet,” he said.

Yesterday, Najib unveiled a new cabinet with 24 ministries, headed by 30 ministers and 27 deputy ministers.

The prime minister had also increased the number of ministers in the PMO, from the six before the general election to eight.

Liew, who is also Kluang MP, said that in a proper Westminster democracy, the prime minister is considered as “first among equals” in a cabinet.

He also said that the cabinet is supposed to operate as a collective of equals who exercise check and balance among its members, as well as on the prime minister’s authority.

“But in Malaysia, the prime minister assumes the finance ministry, which is unheard of in any other Commonwealth nations.

“This is a bad precedent set by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad after having a fallout with his finance ministers, namely Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Daim Zainuddin and Anwar Ibrahim,” said Liew.

The DAP leader said that by convention, the role of a finance minister in a Westminster democracy is to serve as the de facto number two in the cabinet.

“It is the responsibility of the finance minister to monitor and scrutinise the performance of other ministries through budget checks and financial audits. This essential component is sorely lacking in the Malaysian cabinet,” said Liew.

He added that the prime minister also chairs the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC), which has the power to bypass the cabinet’s decision, further eroding any remnants of checks and balances in the administration

“And the PMO also holds wide powers by being in charge of the MACC, Auditor-General’s Office, Election Commission (EC), Public Complaints Bureau and Public Service Commission, which should have been placed under parliamentary oversight,” said Liew.