Wednesday March 19, 2008
People’s call answered, says Hisham
KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet line-up announced by the Prime Minister shows that the public call for change has been answered, said Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
He said the new and young faces somewhat reflected the aspirations of the people.
“They will have to ensure the hopes of the Prime Minister can be translated into action that could be appreciated by the people,” he told reporters after chairing an Umno Youth special exco meeting at Menara Datuk Onn here yesterday.
Otherwise, he said Barisan Nasional would face problems again in the next general election.
On his reappointment as Education Minister, Hishammuddin said: “I’m very relieved and thankful to the Prime Minister because basically the education agenda takes time. You cannot do it in just one term.
“My first task is to make sure that my second report card which I promise the public will come out in the very near future. I’m ready to face the public. They have to assess my report card which I promised twice a year. There’s nothing for me to worry about.”
His deputy Khairy Jamaluddin said the reappointment of Hishammuddin as Education Minister and the movement’s exco member Idris Haron as Deputy Higher Education Minister was an honour for the movement.
Asked whether he was disappointed at not being given any Cabinet post, Khairy said:
“I’m not disappointed. In fact, I’ve mentioned to the Prime Minister a long time ago that if I were to contest in this elections, I have no aspirations to be a member of the administration. I want to keep it that way.”
Khairy quashed rumours that his ambition was to become a full minister, saying that it had never crossed his mind.
“For as long as he is Prime Minister, I have no interest to be a member of the administration. He accepted it and he’s satisfied that
“I want to play a backbencher role. If everybody wants to be a member of the administration, nobody will fight the Opposition.
“I don’t want it to be an issue and something that can be brought up.”
On whether it was fair to blame him for Barisan’s setback, Khairy said:
“Well, I think there are many reasons why we suffered a setback. People can point fingers at many individuals including myself.
“We have a collective responsibility. We must find out what the reason was. It cannot be a single factor.”
Asked about talk that he wielded great influence on the Prime Minister, he said:
“It is not fair to the Prime Minister. I stay out of his way as much as possible. I’m just a normal MP and I want to focus on my job as a normal MP. My issue is with the Opposition now. That’s my main concern.”
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