Malaysia's revamped Cabinet brings 16 new faces to boost credibility after poll debacle

The Associated Press ,  Putra Jaya   |  Tue, 03/18/2008 3:48 PM  |  World

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia's prime minister unveiled a revamped Cabinet on Tuesday, dropping half of his old ministers in a move welcomed by analysts as an attempt to provide a better administration after the ruling coalition's election debacle.

"My expectation is that they will perform better than before," Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told reporters.

Abdullah retained 16 full ministers from the old Cabinet and brought in 16 new people to replace those who were sacked or retired. Every ministry has a new head in the reshuffle except for finance, defense, education and plantations.

The biggest casualty was Rafidah Aziz, who was fired as minister of international trade and industry, a post she had held since 1987.

She was replaced by Muhyiddin Yassin, the agriculture minister in the previous Cabinet.

Abdullah refused to say why he dropped the firebrand Rafidah, who has successfully led many trade negotiations but has also faced corruption accusations.

The new Cabinet has 32 full ministers and 37 deputy ministers. Abdullah abolished the post of parliamentary secretaries, the third-ranking officials in each ministry, to reduce the Cabinet size to 69 from 90 previously.

Abdullah's ruling National Front coalition suffered a massive erosion of its two-thirds majority in Parliament in March 8 general elections. Analysts blamed the loss on his failure to fulfill promises he made in 2003 after taking office to end corruption and ensure racial equality.

The National Front now has 140 lawmakers in the current 222-member Parliament, its lowest strength in the 51 years it has been in power.

Mohammad Agus Yusoff, a political science professor at the National University of Malaysia, said the Cabinet revamping appeared to be a response to demands for change from supporters and critics.

"By making these changes, he seems ready to inject new faces to prove that he wants a clean and energetic Cabinet," he told The Associated Press.

In a significant move, Abdullah appointed Zaid Ibrahim, a former lawmaker and a prominent lawyer, as the law minister in charge of judicial reforms.

Malaysia's judiciary came under attack after the opposition released a secretly shot video showing a well-known lawyer talking on the phone, apparently with a judge to broker top judicial appointments. Among the people the lawyer mentions in the 2001 video is Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, the tourism minister in the last Cabinet. Abdullah sacked him this time.

"Judging by Zaid's track record ... this augurs well for plans to put Malaysia back on course" for a reputable judiciary," said Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, a human rights lawyer.

In another major change, Abdullah moved longtime Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar to the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, formed by merging the home and internal security ministries.

Abdullah retained 19 ministerial and deputy ministerial positions for minority Chinese and Indians, while most of the remaining posts went to the Malay-dominated United Malays National Organization, the main party in the National Front coalition.

About 60 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people are Malays. A quarter of the population is ethnic Chinese and about 8 percent are Indians.

Malaysians of different ethnic groups used to vote along racial lines for their parties in the National Front. But many Malaysians abandoned racial politics this time, voting for the combined opposition.

The opposition won 82 seats in Parliament, increasing its strength from 19 previously.

Abdullah said he will not quit despite the dismal election results.

He said his previous administration made good plans and had visions of grand projects, including development programs, but was short on implementation.

"This term we have to emphasize vigorous implementation of policies and programs," he said.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said the Cabinet lineup did not meet the "demand for change."

"You can change faces but if it is business as usual, it doesn't make any impact," he said. Malaysians "want a new dawn, new leadership, new economic policy, more transparent, accountable government and a more competitive and vibrant economy. This has not changed." (***)

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