Former deputy minister Ramkarpal Singh willingly stepped down from his role upon discovering that his brother Gobind would be made a minister, revealed DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke.
In today’s cabinet reshuffle announcement, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim appointed Gobind the digital minister - a new ministry split from the previous Communications and Digital Ministry.
Gobind served as communications and multimedia minister in the Pakatan Harapan administration under former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad from 2018 to 2020.
Loke said Ramkarpal (above) vacated his role to prevent further criticism levelled against the party.
“So there is no issue of nepotism here. He made way to allow his brother Gobind to be appointed minister.
“The party extends its appreciation towards his (Ramkarpal’s) contribution.”
Ramkarpal was replaced by fellow DAP member M Kulasegaran as deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Law and Institutional Reform.
Both Ramkarpal and Gobind are the sons of former DAP chairperson Karpal Singh.
‘No backlash expected’
Another pair of siblings under scrutiny is Lim Hui Ying’s appointment as deputy finance minister.
Hui Ying is the sister of DAP national chairperson Lim Guan Eng, who is also the former finance minister in the former Pakatan Harapan administration.
Guan Eng had been accused by opposition parties and certain Malay groups of reducing allocations meant to uplift the bumiputera and rural communities during his tenure as finance minister under the Harapan government, which he has denied.
Asked if there would be possible backlash Hui Ying may face due to her brother’s tenure as minister, Loke responded in the negative.
Loke stressed that no single person is responsible for government policies and that the cabinet would be responsible for all major decisions.
“Any government policies are not decided by a particular minister, much less a deputy minister. Any major policy decisions are decided by the cabinet (which is) made up of representatives and leaders from all component parties in the unity government.
“That sort of perception (of Hui Ying having any influence on policy matters) is unfounded and completely untrue (as) no single person can dictate (the direction of) any policy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Loke was dismissive when asked if poor performance was what led to DAP deputy secretary-general V Sivakumar being dropped from the cabinet lineup.
He instead said that Sivakumar acted in line with the “DAP spirit” in his statement this afternoon, accepting the decision made by the prime minister.
“As far as DAP is concerned, I always remind (members) that government positions are not a right but a privilege and a responsibility,” he added. - Mkini
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