ANWAR Ibrahin should reshuffle his cabinet to hasten reforms and win over the key Malay electorate, analysts told The Malaysian Insight.  

They said ministers such as Agriculture Minister Mohamad Sabu are floundering after five months in office.  

There are 28 cabinet ministers and 27 deputy ministers apart from the two deputy prime ministers, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Fadillah Yusof. The prime minister also holds the finance portfolio. 

Ilham Centre executive director Hisomuddin Bakar said the unity government has not shown that it can muster the support of Malay voters after nearly half a year in power.  

Without the support of this crucial segment, it would be hard for Anwar to counter the right-wing Malay-Muslim narratives played by his political enemies, he added. 

“When Anwar became the PM, expectations were high among his hardcore supporters who wanted the reforms to be implemented. 

“After five months, the reforms are partially being implemented, though not all of them. 

“Several ministers are underperforming; they have no capability to carry out the reforms. 

“If it is true that they are incompetent, Anwar should replace them. This is the only way to show that he is serious with his reform agenda. If after six months there is still no result, something is wrong,” said Hisomuddin. 

He singled out the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security under Mohamad Sabu’s purview.

“I don’t see much from the ministry in trying to win the support of the Malays. Especially rural Malays working as fishermen and farmers.

“This ministry has to work closely with the Malay community, which in the last election had given their support to Perikatan Nasional. Malay votes for Pakatan and Umno dropped, so they need to do something about this,” he added. 
 
Change portfolios of underachievers

Dr Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia agreed with Hisommudin but stressed that Anwar should change the portfolio of underperforming ministers. 

He said Anwar seemed to be struggling to win over Malay voters.

“I think Anwar already knows who is not performing and who is overperforming. He can change the portfolios of the ministers. 

“This can reduce tension or internal conflict in the unity government. It can’t be denied that we haven’t heard anything from some ministers.” 

“If possible, Anwar should reshuffle his cabinet after Hari Raya, before the state elections,” he said. 
 
Still early for a reshuffle 
 
Amanah man Faiz Fadzil, however, does not agree with any proposal to reshuffle.  
 
“It is still a six-month-old government, not even a year. It is unfair to assess the unity government based on this short period of time,” the Permatang Pasir assemblyman said.  
 
“All decisions made are collective, so I don’t see the need to reshuffle any time soon,” he added. 

PKR lawmaker Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh agreed, saying certain policies took time to show results. 

“It is still early for a reshuffle. Some policies take time to be felt, to see results,” he said. 

“Bit by bit, we are coming up with solutions. 

“The government should provide information about a policy: what needs to be done, how it would be implemented. Then people would know why it takes time,” the Ledang MP added. – April 19, 2023.