Political Turmoil: The Reshuffle Chronicles Begin
Anwar’s Cabinet: Stability or Shake-Up?
It has only been eight months since the first Cabinet reshuffle of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s administration, and as speculations would have it, another reshuffle is on the cards.
Surely, this has to be one of those odd rumours seemingly plucked from thin air, or is it?
I mean, how many reshuffles would you need in a single term? Two would be one too many.
But then again, we are living in extraordinary times. In the last term from 2018 to 2022, not only did we see different line-ups, we even witnessed the collapse of two governments.
The first was the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government led by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and the other was the Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance government led by Mahathir’s successor, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
To think of it, from 2018 to 2022, we had five different prime ministers altogether with Datuk Seri Najib Razak before GE14, Mahathir, Muhyiddin, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, and Anwar before 2022 ended.
The period of political instability was evident in that particular term. Between the party hopping and the horse trading to vie for majority support, it was a nightmare situation for those who found themselves in the prime minister’s chair.
But now, the issue of political stability seems to have been put to rest. Or at least it should be with Anwar’s government said to have a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
Surely, with the current supermajority for the ruling coalition – a first in 16 years since Barisan Nasional’s (BN) composition in 2008 – the question of the government collapsing due to the withdrawal of support or party hopping would not arise.
If that is the case, then why are we talking about a Cabinet reshuffle? I understand that the prime minister was looking to fill vacancies the last time after the untimely demise of a Cabinet member.
Anwar took his time settling with the current line-up, only deciding to pull the trigger after months of intense speculation.
In the last reshuffle, he took the opportunity to make major changes, introducing ten new additions with five ministers and five deputies. He dropped one minister and two deputies. At the same time, he oversaw portfolio swaps among Cabinet members.
Among the new additions were Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim, and Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo.
The Second Finance Minister was a crucial appointment as Anwar was criticized for being a part-time Finance Minister, holding the portfolio along with his role as prime minister.
Johari’s appointment was expected, but the prime minister opted against having a UMNO leader as the Second Finance Minister and instead gave Johari another portfolio.
Regarding Dr. Dzulkefly, his appointment was to relieve embattled then-Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
Gobind’s return to the Cabinet was not surprising, but many expected him to take charge of the Communications portfolio, a role he played in the first Pakatan Harapan government, while Sim’s appointment was a promotion after his predecessor was dropped from the Cabinet due to several issues.
Each addition was meant to solve a particular problem. The current rumour that a sitting Menteri Besar, presumably from a Pakatan Harapan (PH) party, is tipped for promotion to the federal Cabinet seems thin because there are no vacancies that have cropped up.
At the same time, there seem to be no glaring issues with the current line-up aside from questions about the performances of several administration members, which is bound to occur in every government. This is also very subjective.
Had there been any issues, surely they should have been addressed in the last Cabinet reshuffle. The public might not be kind to another reshuffle only eight months after the last one.
This would send a message to the public that the political bigwigs are jostling for power and status. It would also reflect a lack of decisiveness on the part of the prime minister in choosing his Cabinet members.
Any promotions that Pakatan Harapan has in mind, be it long overdue or dreamed up very recently, have to wait.
The current line-up may not have even fully settled into their roles just yet, and they are already nervous about getting the boot.
But perhaps this was the intention and an incentive for those who are underperforming to buck up and deliver.
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