By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Aug 27: Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim’s appointment as Federal Territories Minister shows that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob still has no younger candidates for Cabinet posts.
Political analyst from Universiti Malaya (UM) Associate Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said the new Cabinet lineup only has minor tactical changes with retainment of the same leaders.
“The new Cabinet seems to shadow the previous Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s Cabinet, maintaining old faces as if the new prime minister is being ‘obligated’ to component parties to put the leaders of their choices.
“It seems that the understanding with the Opposition does not mean anything, except to uphold the Government so that it does not collapse during the Parliament session later,” he said in a statement today.
Awang Azman was commenting on the new Cabinet lineup which was announced by Ismail Sabri in a live telecast this morning.
However, he said the appointment of Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Annuar Musa as Communications and Multimedia Minister was seen as appropriate with his role as spokesperson of Perikatan Nasional (PN) compared to others.
“The prime minister also seems to be returning the favour to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) by appointing the party’s deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu as a full minister despite Bersatu being no longer seen as dominant in the Cabinet.
“On the other hand, many seem to be disappointed that prominent names such as former Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said and United Malays National Organisation (Umno) deputy president Datuk Seri Utama Mohamad Hasan (Tok Mat) were not listed in Ismail Sabri’s Cabinet.
“This is because they were confident that people like Azalina and Tok Mat can bring new ideas into the Cabinet,” he added. – DayakDaily
