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The New Cabinet Ministers: The Return of the Cronies

Banish the thought that the former finance minister and UMNO treasurer, Tun Daim Zainuddin, has no more influence in the Mahathir administration. He professed to resign his cabinet and UMNO positions when he could not account for UMNO assets, but he is as much a force as ever. No better proof of that than the unexpected triple promotion of Dato' Jamaluddin Jarjis, a Daim protege and firmly in the Najib political camp, into the cabinet, as the second finance minister. This and the two other appointments, the promotion of a deputy minister, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to cabinet rank, and a parliamentary secretary, Dato' Zainuddin Maidin, or Zam, to deputy minister, proves cronyism to be alive and well. Few knew of it coming. Normally, rumours of the changes would make the rounds before they are. This time, even the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and the UMNO vice-presidents knew of it when they were announced.

The Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Mahathir Mohamed, dares the UMNO Supreme Council, to do its worst yet again. In the cabinet reshuffle after the 1999 general elections, he brought in unelected men into the cabinet, like Tan Sri Musa Ahmad in education, and Brig.-Gen. (R) Hamid Zainal Abidin, and others in lower positions who were unelected or were not due for promotion. This time, he promotes Zam, a senator, brought Dato' Jamaluddin into the cabinet, ignoring the Buggins' Turn which promoted the next in line. The only acceptable qualification is the three are loyal cronies. Their qualifications are moot, and it does not matter if they could strengthen the administration. The Prime Minister wanted cronies, and cronies he appointed. There is more. Zam is promoted for his successful but dangerous attempt to dive the Malays and the Chinese from the Malays. The two new ministers, from Pahang, are firmly in the political camp of the defence minister and UMNO vice president. Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak. And a subtle hint the Prime Minister would rather have someone else as his successor.

Why is Dato' Jamaluddin specially favoured to leap into the cabinet from the backbenches? He is chairman of the electricity utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad. Therein lies a tale. When Dr Mahathir desperately wanted to have tea and scones with President Bush in the White House, the State Department was lukewarm. So private channcels were lobbied. Three Malaysians got into the act: the former cabinet minister, Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayob; the minister of justice, Dato' Seri Rais Yatim; The foreign minister, Dato' Seri Syed Hamid Albar, through Wisma Putra, th foreign ministry. Tan Sri Megat Junid pulled it off, with a budget of US$10 million, to which TNB contributed the most at the behest of its chairman. Many crony business men, like Tan Sri Francis Yeoh of the YTL Group, chipped in so that all could claim credit, and get contracts in the future. A Malaysian Malay woman married to a Jew and living in Washington lobbied and spread the lolly around. This use of money is not new. One key member of the Prime Minister's immediate staff charged a fee for meeting the Great Man, which the business men, especially Japanese and others, were only too happy to pay. Dato' Jamaluddin is rewarded with a cabinet post. Dr Mahathir wanted to reward Tan Sri Megat Junid with the IWK sewage privatisation, but the Cabinet baulked at it, and so he could not.

The government drifts. Dr Mahathir controls it such that the blame goes to the others. He ignores Parliament, the cabinet, UMNO and the National Front, packing the cabinet with UMNO cronies in an attempt to tell the Malays who by and large detest him that he has their interests at heart. He needs a convenient scapegoat at the Treasury to take the flak. He sends a message to his deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, that he remains there on sufferance, a puppet not a puppeteer. He tells UMNO he can do what he wants, and cares not what UMNO thinks about it. He regards Dato' Seri Najib as a future prime minister, and gives him his cronies in Pahang -- the two new cabinet ministers, who were his comrade-in-arms when he was UMNO youth chief. The Prime Minister would do what he likes whether UMNO, the BN and Dato' Seri Abdullah like it or not.

It is a supercillious and dangerous exercise in brinkmanship, daring UMNO to do its worst and knowing if it did, it could destroy the government. He had to make the promotions a secret to prevent a challenge. But what he did is all but political suicide. He is out of touch with UMNO, the National Front, the Malay, the country. He goes about with no thought to the forms land niceties of government, insisting all is well when it is not, and demanding any who disagrees could be rewarded with detention under the ISA. Every policy he implemented is in tatters, the squabble over English the latest in a long series.

No one in the cabinet knows what is happening as it concentrates on municipal functions and approvals which should have been decided at a junior administrative level. He rushes about the world at frenetic pace -- he is in Paris this weekend to meet President Jacques Chirac -- while leaving all in the hands of Dato' Seri Abdullah but without the power to act as he ought to. He is upset at every Pak Lah move with seemingly upstages him.

He encourages the Hermit of Langgak Golf aka Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to return to the centre of UMNO politics, even dropping hints that he would rather have him than Pak Lah to succeed him. He ties Pak Lah's hands to put into the cabinet men his successor, whoever he is, cannot drop, loyalists who can mount, if necessary, a rear guard action. It is not in Malaysian feudal practice to sack ministers if he is found to e unfit; they can only be if they move to unseat the Prime Minister. Loyalty is the only criterion for cabinet preferment. The Malaysian cabinet has past its sell-by date a long time ago. It is dead but, like a cancer, it continues to live. Meanwhile Malaysia is atop a volcano that is about to erupt with a fury that can only be imagined. Which even the second finance minister is astute to understand, let alone control.

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@mgg.pc.my