by Alyaa Alhadjri
QUICK TAKE: Prime Minister Najib Razak may have denied rumours of an upcoming Cabinet reshuffle but the fact remains that there is someone who has given the idea much thought and released a purported list of his new ministerial line-up.
The list titled, “Seven ministers dropped in Najib’s Cabinet reshuffle” was circulated through various social media outlets.
In a statement from his office on May 12, Najib said: “That (the list) is just a rumour created by certain quarters.”
“Since yesterday (May 11), speculation on Twitter and certain blogs had triggered a frenzy among media who tried to get him (Najib) to verify the rumour.
“Among others, the list stated that two deputy ministers will be promoted while a party president will be appointed as a minister,” the statement said.
According to the purported list, the seven ministers allegedly dropped by Najib were: Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Hasan Malik;Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department Idris Jala, Jamil Khir Baharomand Shahidan Kassim; Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz; Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman; Deputy Communications and MultimediaMinister Jailani Johari and Deputy Agriculture and Agro-Based IndustriesMinister Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.
More interesting is also the fact that the person had given extra thought on possible ‘new’ roles for not only six out the seven who were dropped, but also several other changes in portfolio among the current Cabinet members.
Among others, Idris was assigned the task of managing the debt-stricken 1Malaysia Development Berhad, perhaps a testament of his ‘success’ at presenting a rosy picture of Malaysia and ‘managing’ statistics during his time at the Performance Management Delivery Unit (Pemandu).
Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan, meanwhile, was ‘promoted’ to head the Communication and Multimedia Ministry – once again presumably due to the speed in which he can ‘defend’ himself and BN against attacks on social media.
Also on the list was the reinstatement of the Higher Education Ministry that is now merged with the Education Ministry – to be headed by former vice-chancellor Nordin Kardi – in a move to restore academic credibility to local institutions of higher education.
Indeed, this is not the first time that such speculation has been made.
In the weeks leading to Najib’s first Cabinet reshuffle on June 25 last year, there were similar rumours of potential ministers to be dropped from his administration.
At the time, however, what happened was a mere expansion to accommodate new ministers from MCA and Gerakan, instead of the much needed upgrade.
Referring to PMO’s statement denying the current rumours, it is important to note it stated that “a Cabinet reshuffle can be done at any time or not done at all.”
It is after all, the prime minister’s prerogative to do so or otherwise. That or factions in Umno are jockeying for positions and largesse from Najib, desperate to cement his all too weak rule.
Certainly the fact that at least two ministries are split in the proposed reshuffle list would suggest that some in Umno are looking for a bigger share of the spoils, hoping perhaps to leverage on the trouble Najib is in.
For now, Najib may be able to put a temporary end to earlier rumours that he “would be politely requested to resign” but it looks like there are people seriously considering to beef up his administration – with or without him as prime minister.
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