Dr M to shrink cabinet, says following Tunku's model

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today explained Pakatan Harapan's procedure in appointing the new cabinet, and promised that it will not contain more than 30 ministers, compared to BN's 35 in the last administration.

Mahathir said the method he is using – to first appoint 10 key ministers who can get to work immediately, and make additions later – is similar to what was done by the country's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman.

"This is a new cabinet that has never been set up before, apart from the one by Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1957, where he at the time started with a small cabinet with less than 10 people that included three British officers.

"It was later expanded with other ministries to become bigger. But the previous regime (BN) had expanded it too much that there were 35.

“We will not reach that kind of number," he said in an interview on state television network RTM1.

Mahathir also stressed that the composition of these first 10 ministers may not accord to the proportion of seats won by Harapan component parties, but said that this would be addressed later with the appointment of more ministers.

"I hope we can form the cabinet with 10 people this week, and it will operate as a legitimate cabinet, while we select more ministers which, in total, will be 25.

"We will not follow the percentage of each parties for the first 10 positions in the cabinet. Some may get more, some may get less.

"But if a party does not receive its proportion, their numbers will be increased when we fill up all 25 positions in the cabinet," he said.

Mahathir added that the total ministerial positions could be increased to 30 based on cooperation with Sabah and Sarawak parties, which would see their representatives appointed to cabinet.

However, the total number of ministers will remain below BN's 35.

Majority rule

Mahathir also explained that the new cabinet will abide by majority rule.

"Government decisions, including that of the prime minister, must be based upon cabinet decisions.

"In the cabinet, we will use majority rule, because if we try consensus (model), we may never be able to make decisions," he said.

Mahathir also explained the procedure of appointing the first 10 ministers, revealing that each Harapan component party was asked to present three candidates, along with the ministries they wanted.

"Of course, there will be overlaps, which will then be decided by the prime minister.

"The prime minister will study the candidates proposed by each component party and will decide who will get which ministry.

"The prime minister will also need to call the heads of each party for more detailed information about their choices," he said.

Yesterday, Mahathir announced DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng as finance minister, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin as home minister and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu as defence minister.

However, PKR later expressed concerns about the inclusiveness of the decision, which was conveyed to Mahathir by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim during a meeting.

Mahathir also noted that the number of deputy ministers will be decided upon later, but the principle of ensuring a mix of the four component parties in each ministry would remain.

"If the minister is from a particular party, then if possible, his or her deputy should come from another party," he said. - Mkini