IT won’t be easy but Dr Mahathir Mohamad must reshuffle his cabinet to restore confidence in Pakatan Harapan, said academics.

“There’s a pressing need for him to reshuffle due to the weakness of several ministers,” said Ilham Centre chief researcher Mohd Yusri Ibrahim.

“Some of them are incapable while others don’t seem well suited for the roles they have been given,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Yusri, who presented Ilham’s findings on the Tg Piai by-election at a forum yesterday, said that while DAP’s Gobind Singh Deo was a very capable politician, he seemed ill-fitted for the role of communications minister.

At the forum, Yusri said that although PH controlled the government, state agencies, such as RTM and Bernama, were not doing enough to explain allegations that PH was both “anti-Malay and anti-Chinese” at the same time.

This is an example of how distortion in the media has not been addressed, he said.

Besides Gobind, Yusri said that Dr Mahathir should also consider reshuffling Rural and Regional Development Minister Rina Harun and Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof.

“Rina’s portfolio is very important as it is meant to help rural voters. But you don’t see much of her.”

He said the Rural and Regional Development Ministry’s lack of visibility contributed to the loss of confidence in PH among rural Malaysians, who are predominantly Malay, said Yusri.

“As for Redzuan, he is distracting, with his flying car project, and people are questioning the government’s priorities with such endeavours.”

He said another minister that needed to be shipped out was P. Waytha Moorthy.

“His combative character doesn’t reflect unity and doesn’t inspire anyone. More so when the country needs someone who can unite us all following the last general election,” Yusri said of the national unity and social well-being minister.

Dodging pre-transition chaos?

Despite Bersatu’s recent suggestion that Dr Mahathir reshuffle his cabinet, the 94-year-old appeared reluctant to do so.

Among the reasons, he told a press conference on Wednesday, was that a cabinet reshuffle would be too disruptive ahead of next year’s Apec meeting – to be held in Malaysia – and that he needed to consult all PH component parties before deciding.

Many, however, believe the underlying reason is that, because Dr Mahathir is set to hand over the reins to Anwar Ibrahim before the next general election, a cabinet reshuffle now would disrupt Anwar’s plans for his own cabinet when he takes over later.

However, Universiti Malaya’s Prof Dr Hamidin Abd Hamid said PH could ill-afford to waste any more time if it wanted to restore the people’s confidence in it.

“As there’s no confirmation on when the transition will take place, instead of waiting for that to happen, Dr Mahathir should do what needs to be done now, which is to reshuffle his cabinet,” Hamidin said.

Meanwhile, Yusri said that there was a time when Dr Mahathir used to be able to do what he wanted.

“But with PH made up of five parties – of which Bersatu (which Dr Mahathir leads) is not the dominant party – it is not going to be easy for him to reshuffle his cabinet.”

Also, some of the weaker performing ministers were top leaders in their own parties, making the task of deciding who to drop even harder, Yusri added.

However, Yusri said this was no reason for Dr Mahathir not to, at the very least, attempt to change up his cabinet.

“If he does decide on the reshuffle, Dr Mahathir needs to consult all the parties properly and get their consensus.

“Perhaps, one way would be to ensure the number of minister positions for each party remains the same,” Yusri said. – November 23, 2019.