Wednesday May 8, 2013

GE13: Yeoh: New ministers must have integrity and substance

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's new Cabinet should comprise a multi-ethnic group of individuals who have integrity and substance, said Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute chief executive officer Tan Sri Michael Yeoh.

He said the new ministers must be credible, competent, willing to uphold good governance and have the ability to engage with all levels of civil society.

“The Prime Minister should continue to push for more reforms that will be more business-friendly as well as create a more efficient and transparent administration,” he said, suggesting that Najib could appoint professionals and experts in their own fields to become ministers.

Tan said many administrative reforms had been carried out by bodies such as the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), but certain portfolios could still be streamlined.

Social entrepreneur Anas Zubedy suggested a four-pronged approach for Najib, which included bringing in more non-politicians for a few key ministries such as for international trade and industry as well as human resources.

“If the MCA is not taking any positions, then the PM should give the posts to these kind of people,” he suggested.

Anas also called for a restructuring of the numerous portfolios and ministries, better integration between ministries for higher efficiency, as well as more decentralisation so ministers would have the final say in their respective ministries.

Lawyer Edmund Bon called for the creation of Law and Justice, and Human Rights ministries, suggesting that their budget be controlled by an independent body, which was accountable to parliament.

Bon also urged Najib to set up a royal commission of inquiry or a parliamentary select committee to look into the functions and work of the Election Commission, adding that constituency boundaries and voter weightage were important issues to deal with.

Teach for Malaysia co-founder and managing director Dzameer Dzulkifli said the ministries should be restructured to reduce overlapping responsibilities and promote higher performance, including stopping ineffective programmes.

“I would go as far as to suggest looking into more public-private partnerships to execute what was traditionally seen as the government's responsibilities in order for market forces to identify best practices,” he said.

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