Gobind: Thumbs up to DAP ministers, but improvement needed

Although “happy” with the performances of his fellow DAP ministers to date as Pakatan Harapan closes in on one year in the government, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo acknowledged there was still much room for improvement when it came to communicating government policies to the people.

He was asked to comment on a statement made by former Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) chairperson Daim Zainuddin in a recent interview, in which the latter said the current cabinet’s failure was in communicating with the public.

“Of course I am happy with DAP ministers, I am happy with all the ministers' performances. At the end of the day, yes it has been 10 months, you know, there is a lot that we have learnt.

“[...] I am of the view that there is a lot more that we can do for us (ministers) to improve, and we are looking at that,” he said to reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

The Puchong lawmaker explained that while when many of the ministers have adjusted to their roles, they are still coming to terms with the various tools of communication available to them.

“Over time, we have assimilated ourselves with what the requirements are, but nevertheless if you look at how it is, we have many modes of communication, especially social media and all that, so there are bigger challenges ahead of us, we are trying to solve those problems,” he said.

Working around the clock

Meanwhile, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the cabinet would discuss the issue of ministers’ performances in its coming meeting.

He, however, declined to comment specifically when questioned about Daim’s remarks.

Instead, the Amanah lawmaker said as a minister, he had to take into account people’s feedback.

“I cannot comment on that, Tun (Daim) has every right to comment on us. As a minister, I’m part of the team and whatever people say, we have to take notice and take stock of it.”

He further said, “The biggest room is the room for improvement”.

Dzulkefly added that all ministers were nonetheless working “around the clock” and it was hoped the “management” was aware of their efforts.

In a series of interviews published by The Star on Sunday, former finance minister Daim said the public’s grouses have grown, despite the initial euphoria over Harapan’s GE14 win.

He said it was up to all ministers to communicate better with the public, and claimed it was currently left to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to explain government policies.

“It should be a collective responsibility of the Cabinet. Everybody must go down and explain but that is where the failure is. It is the failure of communication,” he was quoted saying.

He was also quoted as saying that power-sharing conflicts which seem to be affecting the government were merely “teething problems” in the formation of the new administration. - Mkini