By Syed Akbar Ali
Well thats what Blogs are for too. Just heard from an informed friend that a Cabinet reshuffle is imminent. Nothing to shout about though. Rais Yatim may be replacing Anifah Aman (who has been indisposed) at Wisma Putra. Ahmad Maslan may be replacing Rais Yatim as Minister of Information.
G Palanivel who lost Ulu Selangor will be getting into Cabinet while P Kamalanathan who won back Ulu Selangor will not be getting anything.
Slumberjack's SIL wont be making it into the Cabinet - thus staying any revolt in UMNO (for the time being).
What the Prime Minister must have full confidence in is that he is now in a very strong position vis a vis nearly all the components of the BN, including UMNO. This is a window that is still open to him. He can hire and fire almost at will. No one is now strong enough to do any damage or lead any serious revolt if for example they are left out of the Cabinet. Or if they are dropped from the Cabinet.
Firstly since P Kamalanathan has won, it would be nice to see a fresh new face in Cabinet. It will be a harbinger of change not just in the MIC but in the other components of the BN.
The coming Cabinet reshuffle (I really hope its really coming really this time) must not only see a breath of fresh air blowing in but much more importantly it must see the exit of dinosaurs and fossils from not just the Cabinet but from our political landscape.
Lets start with the other components of the BN. The Samys, Palanis etc have to go - permanently. Lets move on in life. Lets get new faces and new blood into Cabinet. Those who suffer constipation, adult pampers, hair implants etc please make way lah.
The same with MCA and Gerakan. It is getting really, really boring to hear the same Tsus the Chuas, Choys, Ongs and whoever else (for the past 20 years). Let us move on. We are really getting tired. Takde orang lain ke?
Coming to UMNO a simple rule would be, if you have been in Cabinet or in power since the 80s and you are over 60 (65 pun boleh) then adios. Thank you for the long years of service but it is time to go. Lets get more new faces.
Personally I feel that Tun Dr Mahathir can be our PM anytime. He is good for many more years. But it just wouldnt be right. A country needs to move on. We need new blood. Dr Mahathir knew it too. He retired gracefully, seven years now. But most of his sebaya are still hanging on.
That man in Sarawak has to go. He is opting for the biological functions approach. As long as I am biologically functioning, I shall remain. Tak boleh. We really need change. And there are good people who are also popular - including in Sarawak.
So this Cabinet reshuffle must be exemplary not just in who gets into Cabinet but who gets left out. The PM must really use a strong butcher's knife to chop off the fat.
Then there is also another category - the non performers, the underperformers, the corrupt, the tainted and the clowns. These too have to be removed and this includes even some younger Ministers, especially those who were appointed during the time of Slumberjack. Let us be rid of them. This especially applies to the tainted Ministers.
I see at least half the Cabinet needing to be dropped. How to replace them? We can get really creative. Many of the Bloggers have their own lists.
The ball is really at the PM's feet. He is in a very strong position now vis a vis his Cabinet colleagues. He must be decisive now. But the PM must realise that his strength is derived from the people. This is a fact of life for any PM. The last PM just slept through this tiny little detail.
We really, really need change. Waking up to see the same old fossils on the TV screens and on our front pages of the morning newspapers even for another day is quite unpalatable. Its getting really nauseous.
It is not any consolation at all but on the other side, the fossils are even more ridiculously 'extinct dinosaurs' like Lim Kit Siang (43 years in power now? Longer than Mao Tse Tung), Karpal Singh, Nik Aziz, Hadi Awang, Anwar Ibrahim and a few more.
As the young man said, when they fill petrol in their tanks, the petrol probably comes from their own pet dinosaurs.
