The good, the bad and the unknown

The suspense is over and we have a new cabinet of ministers and their deputies. And with it comes a sense of deja vu. Some names from the past are back.

Besides former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, who was the dark horse who outran his political rivals, two others from the Pakatan Harapan government have survived. Former PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin is the only one to keep her previous portfolio as she has been reappointed housing and local government minister.

Why I am not sure as I don’t recall any major achievement in her almost two years there. She made the news more for her politicking and support for Azmin than anything else.

Her fellow survivor, Rina Harun, must have done something right as rural development minister too, even though I have no idea what. Admittedly, that’s not a very sexy ministry with the media. Now that she is the women and family minister, she will probably get better visibility.

A stronger sense of replay is the return of BN parties. MCA and MIC, which remained steadfast to BN/Umno, are back in the government. The parties were rewarded with the ministries they used to hold - the Transport Ministry (to MCA president Wee Ka Siong) and Human Resources Ministry (MIC deputy president M Saravanan). I did say deja vu, didn’t I?

But the return of the party that made my teeth clench is Umno. We, the people, worked so hard to send them packing in GE14 and now they are back.

I have long maintained it was Umno’s sense of invulnerability that made many of its leaders and members so arrogant, greedy and corrupt that it sickened and tainted the whole BN that led to its downfall. And now they are back in less than two years.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (above) may have tried his best to look for untainted candidates and assured the public the ones named were vetted and cleared by the MACC.

But just what criteria MACC used is not known. It would be most likely to check if they were involved in any unsavoury practices, like, you know, corruption. Yet for the MACC to clear all of them so fast is truly remarkable.

Won't an investigation of such nature take some time? It is not just a mere background check to see if the candidate has a criminal record or unpaid speeding tickets. 

Also, even if the person comes up clean in terms of corruption, does MACC check on their principles, beliefs and prejudices? Because how a person thinks and what he believes in will affect how he acts. We saw how that affected former education minister Maszlee Malik's performance which led to his removal.

Already, social media is a-buzz with revelations of some appointees which throws doubt on how they will act as members of the highest level of government.

Deputy Women and Family Minister Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (above), the PAS MP from Rantau Panjang, for one, has made statements that sent jaws dropping and heads shaking. She has called for a dress code for women to curb sexual crimes and sexual harassment.

More shocking was what she said after MH17 was shot down over Ukraine in 2014: "In light of the possibility of Allah's wrath, Malaysia Airlines should stop serving alcohol and revise the dress code of the female flight attendants, especially so for Muslim females." Should we be concerned over what goes on in this deputy minister's mind?

But not all is lost, I think most people find the appointment of Mustapa Mohamed as minister in prime minister’s department in charge of the economy quite acceptable.

With his first-class honours degree in economics from Melbourne University and a masters in economic development from Boston University, he has the right credentials, together with his well-known strong work ethic, dedication and secular approach to his job, which was most evident in his previous post as international trade and industry minister.

I am, however, more ambivalent about Umno returnee Khairy Jamaluddin who takes on the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry. He had his share of controversies, most notably his control over the influential “Fourth Floor Boys” in the Prime Minister's Department when his father-in-law, Abdullah Badawi, was PM between 2003 and 2009.

But he didn’t do too badly as the youth and sports minister and this Oxford University graduate enjoys popular support because he is charismatic, smart and articulate. My hope is he has grown up and shed his youthful brash ambitions and will continue the good work of his predecessor Yeo Bee Yin.

Muhyiddin has already signalled which are his most important ministries by appointing senior ministers to head them. These are International Trade and Industry (helmed by Azmin), Defence, Works and Education which makes sense since we need to boost investments and export earnings, build infrastructure and future-proof our children and of course, protect the nation.

But the ministers I am most interested in are the ones heading Education, Health, Tourism, Arts and Culture portfolios as well as the two new ministries, Environment and National Unity.

After Maszlee, there will be intense interest in Mohd Radzi Md Jidin. But there's not much known about him except he left Umno to join Bersatu because as a forensic accountant, he was shocked by the 1MDB corruption scandal which he could not ignore. The son of a headmaster and a former lecturer, Radzi actually lost to Annuar Musa, the new federal territories minister, in GE14 and now they are teammates.

As for Health Minister Dr Adham Baba, he needs to hit the ground running to continue tackling the Covid-19 crisis.

It's hard to know he has the skills and experience for the job as information is sketchy. He earned his medical degree in Universiti Malaya and owns a chain of clinics. His previous highest government appointment was parliamentary secretary in the Higher Education Ministry from 2004 to 2008. But back in 2002, DAP took him to task for calling for the abolition of vernacular schools. Does that still reflect his thinking in 2020?

Covid-19 will also put a lot of pressure on Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri (above) because it is Visit Malaysia Year and we were off to a bad start. How she can make up the lost time and lost tourist dollars will be a test of their ingenuity and creativity.

Nancy, who was minister in the prime minister's department previously, holds a law degree from Hull University and an MBA. She is known to ditch protocol at official functions to sing and dance and is a firm believer in national harmony. That sounds promising, and she definitely has the pipes from what I heard on a YouTube video.

Muhyiddin’s decision to hive off environment from the previous Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change to create an Environment Ministry is much welcomed. Yeo Bee Yin was supposed to launch the nation’s Circular Economy Roadmap (CER) this year.

The CER is a concrete programme of action that covers the whole cycle from production, consumption to waste management, with the aim of creating “a system that allows for the long life, optimal reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling of products and materials”.

I hope the new minister, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, won’t delay or derail the roadmap after all the work put into it by his predecessor.

Finally, but possibly, the most important political development for the nation is the creation of the National Unity Ministry. For this, I am almost willing to forgive Muhyiddin for bringing Umno into power.

The National Unity Consultative Council formulated a National Unity Blueprint and in 2014, it proposed three so-called Harmony Bills to replace the Sedition Act.

But the Act remained and the bills became mired in controversy and went on the backburner. National unity, one of the foremost challenges confronting the nation, was left flapping in the wind.

Now we have Halimah Mohamed Sadique (above), a seasoned politician, heading it. I am unable to find out much about her except that she started her political career as a state assemblyperson in 1995 and was deputy urban wellbeing, housing and local government minister. How passionate is she about protecting, respecting and improving understanding and acceptance in our multiracial society? We wait to find out.

Just how much clout and budget she gets will also be telling of Muhyiddin’s seriousness in prioritising national unity.

He did say: “Malaysia is known around the world as a country that has a composition of many ethnicities, cultures and religions. A solid inter-ethnic unity is a determinant of the continuity and survival of our country.” So let’s hope it’s not just talk.

The new prime minister has his team now, and we the people will be watching very carefully how this new cabinet performs and behaves. Even though many Malaysians were disappointed with Harapan’s poor performance, they are still dismayed by its fall and are wary of what this Perikatan Nasional can offer.

They have two months to show they have the smarts, integrity and Malaysian (not Malay) heart to convince the rakyat they can do better before Parliament reconvenes on May 18.

A strong word of advice: No more arrogance please, especially from Umno members.

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June HL Wong is a veteran journalist of more than 30 years experience. - Mkini