EDUCATION Minister Maszlee Malik is expected to announce his resignation from the cabinet today, paving the way for a ministerial reshuffle as Pakatan Harapan continues to grapple with a range of issues, said sources familiar with the matter.
Maszlee is expected to announce his decision this evening after meeting Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The source said the education minister has to quit the cabinet because his handling of the ministry is perceived to be the root of a number of crises hitting the PH administration.
The management of teaching Jawi in vernacular schools is one case in point.
“The resignation will pave the way for the reshuffle,” said another source to The Malaysian Insight.
This morning, the Education Ministry scheduled a press conference to be held by Maszlee at 4.30pm.
Meanwhile, another source said the resignation will allow Bersatu to bring in former minister Mustapa Mohamed into the cabinet.
The Jeli MP joined Bersatu in October last year a year after leaving Umno.
Mustapa served in Dr Mahathir’s cabinet from 1995 to 1999, during the latter’s term as fourth prime minister.
Mustapa’s tenure ended when he lost his seat in the 1999 general election, but returned to serve under Mahathir’s successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, when Mustapa won back the Jeli seat in the 2004 general election.
He served in the cabinet until Barisan Nasional lost power in the May 2018 general election.
Talk of a cabinet reshuffle began in May 2019 when the government’s stock began to plummet with the opinion polls registering dismal ratings for its performance.
Dr Mahathir came under repeated pressure to dump ministers perceived to be weak and not performing.
However, Dr Mahathir has so far defended his ministers and refused to make any changes.
Calls to revamp the cabinet were revived after PH’s disastrous outing at the Tanjung Piai by-election when candidate Karmaine Sardini was crushed in a 15,000-vote majority landslide by BN’s Wee Jeck Seng.
The BN victory was largely read as a protest vote against PH by pollsters.
However, Dr Mahathir has still resisted a reshuffle, because as he does not want to pick the wrong candidate. – January 2, 2020.
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another drama
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