Is the cabinet reshuffle aimed at the country or the UMNO elections in 2007?

Is the cabinet reshuffle aimed at the country or the UMNO elections in 2007?

PAK LAH has resuffled his cabinet, so the newspapers and spinmeisters
said. But has he? He has organised his cabinet to be ready for the
2007 UMNO elections, not to run the country effectively. He has
blinked at a time when he should not. He hopes the changes would
destroy lhis enemies. But he has ensured divisions in the cabinet,
between the cabinet and UMNO rank-and-file, UMNO against the people.
The other politicial parties in the National Front did not count, and
he dropped what their leaders did not want. His predecessor, Tun
Mahathir Mohamed, is not unhappy at the cabinet resuffle especially
since many of his supporters are in it. Those who had watched Pak Lah
announcing the cabinet on television would have seen a glum prime
minister ill at ease while his deputy, linked to Tun Mahathir,
grinning away. When Pak Lah dismissed the AP scandal as a minor
mistake and that did not justifiy sacking the minister, he gave the
impression that in running the country, those in politicial offfice
are expected to fill their pockets with ill-gotten money.

He could have offset this by ensuring that it was his cabinet. But he
could not. He had no clear vision, whether it should be his cabinet
or whether it should help his teach win the 2007 UMNO elections. He
did not make any important appointments, most dropped had wanted to
quit anyway or move on to stare politics or retire. What we saw is
not musical chairs, for that entails that when the music stops, there
post less. It was jobs for the boys, even if they were not on his
side. He announced Mr Muhammad Taib, aquitted in Australia because
"he did not speak English" – rather strange for a University of
Malaysia graduate of the pre-1970s – for having on him RM3 million in
various currencies and which he had not declared. Mr Muhammad Taib, a
former mentri besar of Selangor, is a warlord who could stop Dato'
Khir Toyo so that he would not challenge Pak Lah's son-in-law for the
UMNO Youth deputy leadership. But why should Dato' Muhammed's
appointment to the Senate announced the same time as the cabinet
reshuffle?

TV3, run by Mr Khairy Jamaludin's acolyte, has daily coverage on
wrong in Selangor, obviously to put Mr Khir Toyo on the spoit. Mr
Khairy, who has never won an election contesting for it, may have to
face Dato' Khir in 2007 to defend his UMNO Youth deputy leadership.
Or challenge Dato' Hishamuddin Hussein for UMNO Youth leader. But
questions are asked on the UMNO ground if the problems in Selangor
are not in the rest of the states. His men were to have been in the
present cabinet, but his father-in-law could oblige for reasons of
his own survival. The warlords in UMNO had to be accommodated, which
is Datin Rafiidah Aziz remains in her post. That Mr Khairy's cousin
is the "AP King" and Datin Rafidah family's control of APs makes sure
one cannot accuse the other, a sort of insurance.

The aim is to make sure Pak Lah's team is in charge after 2007. The
individual cabinet portfolios do not matter. What the loser in the
Gerakan leadership told repoters after he was dropped, that he would
have to find a new job, says it all. The country runs on auto-pilot,
despite the cabinet. It has run that day for decades. It can continue
till 2007. But the ground is restive. They do not see that the
country must be sacrificed for UMNO leadership gains. The ministers
are unhappy that the Press, which echos occasionally these concerns
of the people, are more likely to be less deferential. The
alternative press and Internet have proved a more reliably bell-
wealther of what happens in the country. This is seen by the official
attacks on them but they will not go away. The cabinet resuffle to
strengthen Pak Lah's position in the UMNO leaderships stake is going
to be scruntised, and those in power must now explain what they need
not in the past.

The individual cabinet portfolios do not mean anything. Their holders
are proforma appointees, not to strengthen the country but to ensure
they collect ill-gotten gains and attack the whistleblowers. But this
is not to say those droppsed were by accident. Datuk Kadir Sheikh
Fadhir was dropped because he negotiated with Tun Mahathir about
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah being deputy prime minister. Pak Lah never
forgets a slight, and given their background in UMNO, he went. Rest
assured that the new cabinet has members who are either too corrupt,
too effecient but corrupt, or useful for the vote bank. The
porftolios they hold therefore do not matter. At least until they
show they do. The country is wound up by news media – either official
or owned by one of other of the National Front partners or its
members – of changes that would come in the cabinet reshuffle. But
when the event takes place, the people are too tired to yawn.

M.G.G. Pillai