– BernamaAll eyes and ears: Anwar chairing the first special Cabinet meeting of the Unity Government at Perdana Putra.
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PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will not receive any salary, both as Prime Minister and as Finance Minister, he has clarified.
Cabinet ministers have also agreed to a 20% pay cut until Malaysia reaches economic recovery, he said.
Rubbishing talk that he would be paid as Finance Minister although he had declined the salary for the top job, Anwar announced he would not be taking any form of government salary.
This was in line with his promise made during the election campaign, he said.
During the campaign, Anwar had said he would not take a salary if he was appointed as prime minister because the people themselves were struggling to cope with rising costs.
“Some people say I’m not taking the Prime Minister’s salary because I am the Finance Minister. That’s not true. There is only one salary,” he said, laughing off such claims during a press conference here yesterday.
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The Members of Parliament Act (Act 347) only allows one salary for ministers, deputy ministers or political secretaries.
On the Cabinet ministers’ pay cut, he said this was their way of acknowledging the tough times faced by the people.
“The pay cut will be implemented as long as Malaysia continues to recover economically.
“It shows the ministers are also concerned about the livelihood of the public,” he said.
Asked if the pay cut would be carried out throughout the government’s five-year tenure, he simply said that it could range from three to five years, depending on the situation.
Cabinet to take 20% pay cut
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim thanks his ministers “for their willingness to make some sacrifices” and said this was to show the government’s concern for Malaysians.
PETALING JAYA: A wide range of views has emerged on the Cabinet line-up but most analysts agree on one thing – it reflects the current political set-up and the need to appease all the parties involved.
“I think it does reflect the strength and number of seats that each party has,” said senior fellow from Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, Dr Azmi Hassan.
He described the appointments as “fair”, adding that they were made in tandem with the ratio of parliamentary seats held by each party.
The main factor in determining the line-up of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Cabinet was the need to please the political parties involved, he added.
This, he said, was to ensure that Anwar would have the support of the parties in the unity government.
“The political factor was crucial in determining the Cabinet appointments,” he added.
Azmi said the ministerial appointments might not please everyone.
DAP, he noted, has been relatively quiet since the Cabinet list was unveiled.
“I would understand why – they (Pakatan Harapan) needed to appease Barisan Nasional and thwart the advance of PAS,” he said.The 28-member Cabinet includes 15 Pakatan ministers comprising four from DAP, eight from PKR, two from Amanah and one from Upko.
There are six Barisan Nasional ministers, five from Gabungan Parti Sarawak, one from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and one without a political party – Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar, a Syariah court chief judge who was appointed Religious Affairs Minister.
Presently, Anwar has the support of Pakatan’s 82 MPs, Barisan (30 MPs), GPS (23), GRS (six), Warisan (three), Muda (one), KDM (one), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (one) and two independent MPs.
International Islamic University Malaysia’s Dr Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said the Cabinet line-up was a result of negotiations between the Prime Minister and the component coalitions of the unity government.
“It reflects the proportionality of the components and party hierarchies,” he said.
He added that parties such as Muda and Warisan were not given ministerial positions, “but I think they would not protest about it”.
However, Tunku Mohar noted that Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s appointment as Deputy Prime Minister had compromised Pakatan’s pledge for good governance.
Ahmad Zahid is facing 47 charges involving criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering.
Universiti Sains Malaysia senior lecturer Dr Azmil Mohd Tayeb said the Cabinet was one which Anwar could cobble up based on the current political arrangement.
“It’s much slimmer and appeases almost everyone,” he said.
However, he was of the view that Anwar should not have assumed the Finance Minister’s post.
The last prime minister to hold both portfolios was Datuk Seri Najib Razak from 2008 to 2018.
Back then, this had come under criticism with Pakatan pledging in its 2018 general election manifesto that the prime minister would not hold the finance portfolio.Azmil also had reservations about the appointment of Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz (International Trade and Industry Minister).
“I don’t think it is a good idea, while excluding someone like Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad,” he said.
Dr Dzulkefly, the health minister in the Pakatan-led administration from 2018 to 2020, had defeated Tengku Zafrul in the battle for the Kuala Selangor seat.
Political analyst Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said the Cabinet appointments could appease those supporting the unity government “for a while, perhaps”.
He said the political parties would be “temporarily satisfied” with their allocated representation in the Cabinet.
“But politics nowadays is so fluid that anything could change rapidly,” he added.
Oh, however, conceded that the ministerial appointments reflected the proportion of the various parties in the administration.
“It is, in essence, a coalition government,” he added.
New Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been welcomed by many like a breath of fresh air. But can he cleanse the nation of the many ills it now suffers? It remains to be seen.
MY retired brother called from Penang the other day. He had yet to get his pension and needed some cash. Why? I asked. “Anwar has won and I want to celebrate with my friends,” he cheered. He is just one of many who are anamoured of our new Prime Minister.
There is also this man in Bukit Mertajam, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s hometown, who is buying everyone meals at restaurants around town.
Elsewhere, a large non-Muslim crowd gathered outside a mosque as Anwar prayed inside. And they mobbed him when he came out. Everywhere he goes, the PM is being cheered.
He’s probably the most welcomed Malaysian chief executive in living memory. It’s all quite exciting, but I think the celebrations are also a bit premature.
Yes, it has been a long wait for him, his supporters and those who have been rooting for him all these years. He has been the underdog, facing failure after failure, falling every time he believed he had reached the pinnacle.
It’s the kind of story that would touch any heart.
But it’s only the beginning. Now is not the time to put him on a pedestal. He has much to prove, and he could fall off that high horse any time, just as the last three prime ministers did.
The plotting is going on. Those who do not like the idea of him being PM will do their best to bring about his downfall.
It happened before in 2020 with the Sheraton Move; and even days after Anwar’s appointment, there was talk of a Tropicana Move.
That has been denied, but his performance will be under intense scrutiny. There will be little room for relaxation.
His first task just got done. He has named his full Cabinet, obviously done with much juggling, putting together a unity government that will keep everyone happy and yet meet his promise of a small Cabinet.
If that was hard, the really herculean task awaits now.
There is so much wrong with our country now – an economy in the doldrums, a ringgit that’s floundering, an education system that’s well off the mark, and a population that’s deeply divided.
There’s so much to do – or undo.
I say undo because Anwar himself may be responsible for some of those maladies. He was once Education Minister – way back in 1986 – and started a revolution in the system.
He is the man credited with Islamisation of our schools, and the growth of religious schools, while working with then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Those actions have come back to bite him, say analysts. Two weeks ago, his daughter lost the Permatang Pauh seat, held by members of his family since 1980, to a tahfiz teacher.
Anwar, and his Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim), were the driving force behind such schools.
The children in many of these schools are being taught to only vote for a certain party, and with Undi18 now law, there was a flood of such voters, the analysts say.
With the mushrooming of religious schools, the days when children of all races laughed, played and mixed in schools seem to be long gone.
Now, schools are divisive. Even the syllabus has been questioned with Malays themselves asking why there are so many religious classes and too few teaching modern-day living skills like English, science and technology, computer know-how and things like that.
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The Chinese and Indians are flocking to vernacular schools, leaving the national school system largely to the majority Malays. So many Malays are also migrating to these vernacular schools.
Already, there is a call for one stream of education for all. I think it’s too early for that too. We first need to make the national school system the one of choice. For that, a good Education Minister is needed, as is a revamp of the school syllabus. Fadhlina Sidek and Datuk Seri Khaled Noordin have a lot to do.
We have heard the perennial complaints – discrimination in matriculation places, the closure of canteens during Ramadan, children forced to eat in the toilet and odd corners, non-Muslim children being left to their own devices during agama classes ... the list is long.
Public universities too need to be places where a Malaysian identity can be forged, not where differences are reinforced.
A National Unity Minister who sincerely believes in his job could be a big help. Aaron Ago Dagang, a man from Sarawak, could be the right choice.
There is a lot we can learn from the Borneo states, which have retained much of the old-world charm that places like George Town, Klang, Johor and even Kuala Lumpur once had; the days when Chinese coffee shops housed nasi kandar stalls and people of all races sat together at the same table, eating and drinking together.
Even my mee jawa man had prawn and beef broth for his different clientele, each with a different wok.
Then there’s the minister for Religion. We have all heard about the one from Indonesia; his mantra is that he is a minister for all religions – Islam, Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism.
It was not so the last time for the minister in Malaysia. He believed his job was only to cater to the religion of the federation.
What we need is a minister who looks at the similarities among religions, all of which preach peace and unity, not one who considers his religion superior and therefore untenable with the others.The Rulers have got it right. They have called for an end to all extremism, religious or racist, and for unity to be the main consideration. It is important that the government works towards bringing the bitterness to an end.
“I hope there are no more leaders who will raise racial or religious issues to provoke the people,” said Negri Sembilan’s Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir.
They also want the Rukun Negara, whose first tenet is “Belief in God”. It does not say which religion. The supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law are also important.
Now, it is up to the new PM. He has his job cut out for him. The honeymoon with the voters and adulation of the supporters will be over real soon.
The work – and it’s a lot of hard work – will have to begin. The pitfalls and booby traps are many. His supporters have faith that he will make it.
Five years from now – if Anwar succeeds as a unifying PM – we can celebrate as a nation. For now, though, I am holding that champagne, or non-alcoholic beer as the case may be.
Anwar says he took Finance Ministry to bring new policies
PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who appointed himself Finance Minister in his new Cabinet, is hoping to
restore economic confidence through new policy approaches.
“I was not inclined (to take on the post), but I want to embark on new policy approaches and restore economic confidence among local traders as well as foreign investors.
“I
will be assisted by a strong team that isn’t only civil servants, but also a group of advisers who will not burden the government’s coffers,”
he said in announcing his Cabinet at Perdana Putra here yesterday.
In the follow-up press conference, Anwar said the Finance Ministry will be
assisted by several advisers led by former PETRONAS president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican.
Meanwhile, Anwar said the new Cabinet members will be sworn in at 3pm today.
“I
will have a special meeting with the ministers so I can convey several matters to them, such as new rules, direction, and new methods,” he
said.
Anwar said ministers should begin their duties soon and he advised them to avoid wastage, bribes and power abuse.
“I have made it clear to the Cabinet that the unity government prioritises good governance and the need to reduce the people’s burden, as well as stimulating the economy,” he said.
The Prime Minister said his Cabinet, which comprises 28 ministers, is a clear signal to the people that the unity government, together with the civil service, will ensure its promises to the people are fulfilled.
The last prime minister who also served as a finance minister was Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Anwar had served as finance minister and deputy prime minister to then
premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad before being sacked in 1998.
