DEFENCE Minister Hishammuddin Hussein was given the top spot in Lim Guan Eng’s “roll of dishonour” – his list of 10 federal ministers that have failed Malaysians. 

No ministers from Sarawak or Sabah were on the list. 

The DAP chairman made Hishammuddin the standout minister for failing to make the grade over his failure in the RM9 billion purchase of six littoral combat ships (LCSs) and other defence procurement scandals involving billions of ringgit. 

Lim described the scandal as “most outrageous” as RM6 billion had been paid out without a single ship being delivered.

What was outrageous to Lim, too, was that Hishammuddin had launched an incomplete LCS in 2017 with a RM400,000 false mast that was then disposed of.

The next three places on the list were taken up by PAS ministers – Religious Affairs Minister Idris Ahmad, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Takiyuddin Hassan and Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

Of the three, Lim labelled Idris “the worst offender” over the frequency of his racist, extremist statements and his tendency to victim-shame, which Lim said disrupts national unity and religious harmony.

“Tuan Ibrahim has not been effective at all in dealing with the ferocious floods besetting the nation,” the Bagan MP said.

Guan said he was not alone in that opinion alluding to University Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Mohamad Agus Yusoff who had labelled them as incompetent while Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed had described them as “menteri cap ayam” (low-quality ministers) who are dragging the government down with their incompetence. 

Human Resources Minister M. Saravanan was in fifth spot over his failure to fulfil his promise to resolve the shortage of foreign labour.

With only 47,000 having been brought in, that Lim said was “a success rate of only 12% of 385,000 approvals given by him since January this year”. 

In sixth spot was Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong. 

His failure, Lim said, is “stubbornly insisting on refusing to grant an exemption to the cabotage policy that would allow foreign vessels to repair submarine cables”. 

Lim said that caused losses of billions of ringgit in digital investments. 

Wee was also faulted for getting his facts “tragically wrong” on the recent helicopter crash in Bidor. 

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rina Harun was in seventh spot for failing to defend the dignity of women and turning a blind eye to gender discrimination, while in eighth was Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa “for his abysmal failure to stem inflation when he took over the special cabinet task force against inflation in June”. 

Inflation and food inflation rose from 3.4% and 6.1%, respectively, in June, to 4.4% and 6.9% in July, Lim said. 

“This led to Bank Negara to raise the overnight policy rate by 25 basis points to 2.5% to control inflation.”

Federal Territories Minister Shahidan Kassim’s failure to seek solutions for deteriorating traffic congestion and flood mitigation projects in Kuala Lumpur put him in ninth spot while Economic Minister Mustapa Mohamed took the final spot.

Shahidan’s failure was that “he forgot Kuala Lumpur is an international city” and Lim said Shahidan had adopted “the extremist policies of PAS” by taking steps towards banning concerts by international artists, sale of alcohol in traditional Chinese medicine halls.

Mustapa making the list was “for failing to manage the economy”.

Now Lim is asking if Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob “will do the right thing against failed ministers to lessen the suffering of Malaysians, or will he choose to call for a general election this year to cover up the failed performance of his government?”

He said as Ismail leaves for New York to lead Malaysia’s delegation at the United Nations General Assembly, “he would do well on his long plane ride to reflect on the performance, or lack of performance, of his cabinet”. – September 22, 2022.