Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday unveiled an enlarged cabinet with 14 new faces in a major overhaul after his landslide election victory.
He said three ministries -- home, education, culture, arts and tourism -- would be split up, five ministries renamed to reflect new focus and two new ones formed.
Abdullah kept the key finance and internal security portfolios.
There are 34 ministers in the new line-up, up from 29, and Abdullah said 14 of the ministers were new faces. There was also an increase of women representatives and younger people.
"This is a major restructuring of the government," he told a news conference broadcast live on national television.
"All these changes are made to ensure effective and efficient government service ... to provide more specific focus and to streamline the administration. The economy will benefit from the changes."
The opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) described the new cabinet as "bloated and flabby."
"His first cabinet is as flawed as the 2004 elections which gave him a landslide victory. He has failed his first acid test," DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang told reporters.
The multi-racial National Front coalition won 90 percent of parliamentary seats on Sunday but opposition parties had said there were irregularities in the electoral roll that kept thousands of voters from the ballot box.
Lim said it was disappointing that Abdullah kept the key finance and internal security posts which he inherited from former premier Mahathir Mohamad.
"Why is he holding the two ministries? Are there no qualified or trustworthy person to lead the two ministries," he said.
Abdullah defended the bigger cabinet, saying it would allow ministers to focus on specific duties and cut bureaucracy.
"These changes are made to enable ministers to focus [on their jobs]," he told reporters.
Abdullah said the new line-up would enhance the nation's competitiveness and boost Malaysia's aim to become a developed country by 2020.
"The changes in the new administration are made to fulfil our promises... a government that supports the people and that will work to ensure a better, peaceful and prosperous future," he added.
Abdullah named Azmi Khalid as new home affairs minister.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak retained his defense portfolio while Hishamuddin Hussein was was promoted to education minister. Newcomer and Abdullah loyalist Azalina Othman is the youth and sports minister.
Veteran Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz retained her post, as did Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.
Abdullah created two new ministries for natural resources and environment, and federal territory.
The national unity, and women and family development ministries were merged to become women, families and social development.
Five ministries were renamed as plantation enterprises and commodities; science and technology; power, water and telecommunications; rural and regional development; and agriculture and agro-based industries.
Abdullah also abolished the 10-year rotation system for the chief minister of Sabah state on Borneo island. The post has been rotated every two years among leaders of the three major communities since the ruling coalition won power in 1994.
The ministers are expected to be sworn in Tuesday, a day before the weekly cabinet meeting.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS