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Khoo Kay Peng, political analyst
Najib initially promised a lean and mean cabinet, and my initial reaction to this is it is neither. The ‘wow’ factor was missing and instead we saw a lot of odd inclusions and exclusions. The first strange inclusion is that of Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, who is in charge of unity in the PM’s department. Koh is not known as a consensus builder and no track record in unity building, so he is an ironic choice. Secondly, the inclusion of Mukhriz Mahathir and not Khairy Jamaluddin will cause Najib to be further perceived as being influenced by Mahathir. It has gone beyond the convention on Umno. It is also ironic that in his speech, Najib talked about making a connection to the youth, while Umno’s own Youth chief is absent from the lineup. Thirdly, making Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin the Minister of Education is also an odd choice. It should be a technical, quality-oriented ministry run by someone not overly political and who knows the education sector well, and as Umno Deputy President and DPM, Muhyiddin is a very high-profile politician, so he is not the right choice. Rita Sim, deputy chairperson of INSAP
The new cabinet named is relatively untainted; those who were under investigations or with questionable backgrounds were not put in. There is also no one from the private sector; Najib is really pulling the government together. We thought there would be some technocrats in the line-up, but instead he has put in ministers known to work very hard like Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen and Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil. It is also good to note that Datuk Hishamuddin Hussein has been moved to Home Affairs Ministry as he is trained as a lawyer and therefore shows that Najib is serious about a review of the ISA. Khaw Veon Szu, executive director of SEDAR
It's a surprising cabinet, seen especially in the changes at the multi-racial line-up of the Foreign Ministry, which is headed by Datuk Anifah Aman and has deputy ministers who are Indian (Senator A Kohilan Pillay) and Chinese (Datuk Lee Chee Leong). Something to look forward to is Koh Tsu Koon's position, which is tasked with the responsibility for unity in the Prime Minister's department, as well as the six-month evaluation period and KPIs for ministers that would make it a more efficient cabinet. As for Mukhriz's appointment and Khairy's absence, it concerns Umno politics, which I don't wish to comment on. Prof. Dr Azahari Ismail, lecturer in policy leadership at UPM
The new cabinet is largely seen to be clean of corruption, which is sending a message to the people that Najib is serious about reforming Barisan Nasional and the rest of the country. As for Khairy’s exclusion, I think it was appropriate because in the Umno Executive Council he was given a warning. This should be a chance for him to reflect on his actions. Ben Suffian, Merdeka Center Programme Director
By excluding Khairy, Najib is avoiding controversy and criticism from his own party, especially those from the old administration such as Tun Mahathir. I can foresee problems cropping up within the party as he tries to balance the influences between the old and present administrations. Mukhriz’s inclusion, on the other hand, shows that Najib is trying to assuage Mahathir, strengthening the point that Dr M's influence is still very much appreciated. Lastly, Najib has given space to Gerakan and other component parties, allaying concerns that Umno is going it alone. This continues to display that BN is beyond Umno, preventing further criticism that its component parties don’t have representation within the government. Wong Chin Huat, political scientist at Monash University Sunway
Najib’s cabinet lineup shows that Mahathir is still in control as he decides who is clean or corrupt. Importantly, the new cabinet reflects more in terms of the change in the regional political strength. For instance, Sabah now has four ministers while Perak has three ministers and two deputies; this indicates that Najib may be trying to win back Perak, or maintain control on Sabah. Secondly, it reflects a purge of Abdullah’s men, save for Shahrizat. The third outstanding characteristic of the new cabinet is that it has a significantly high number of senators, which could be problematic as it shows that cabinet is less reflective of parliament. Democratically, it is not the best thing for Najib to have done. Written by Melody Song Faye-Lynn, Lam Jian Wyn & John Lim
Source: http://www.bizedge.com/political-news/3899-najibs-cabinet-line-up.html
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