Newly appointed Digital Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has lambasted Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin’s remarks over cabinet appointments.
This comes after Muhyiddin said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had “pawned” the principles of good governance, as preached during the election campaign, by appointing “kleptocrat” Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi into the cabinet.
Fahmi, however, said the list of cabinet appointments was not at the sole discretion of the prime minister.
Instead, it was a collective decision made by Anwar and leaders of other parties and coalitions within the federal government, which consists of Pakatan Harapan, BN, GPS, GRS, Warisan, and others.
“Maybe Muhyiddin forgot, but this is not a Harapan government where the prime minister is able to appoint whomever he wants.
“This is a unity government that is formed jointly, where important policies or decisions are made with consultation, including when appointing the cabinet of ministers,” he said in a statement today.
Fahmi (above) added that this consultative method of appointing ministers is an important change, to avoid mistakes made by governments that came about after the Harapan federal administration in 2018.
“At the time, we witnessed cartel groups within the party weaponised, which created a ‘party in a party’ situation that ultimately damaged the internal political stability of the party,” he said.
Earlier today, Muhyiddin called the newly announced cabinet line-up “disappointing” as Zahid, who was appointed deputy prime minister, is also facing a criminal trial.
Zahid was ordered to enter his defence on 47 corruption, criminal breach of trust (CBT), and money laundering charges involving RM31 million of funds from his foundation Yayasan Akalbudi.
Muhyiddin said Anwar’s decision to appoint Zahid was akin to selling the country’s dignity so that the PKR president can remain as prime minister.
However, Fahmi stressed that the current administration will not interfere with judicial affairs in any court case, as part of Anwar’s commitment.
He reminded Muhyiddin, who is a former prime minister, that there were several issues he needed to be investigated for such as the 1BestariNet project and allegations that the Bersatu president awarded RM500 billion in contracts during the Covid-19 pandemic. - Mkini
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