‘Govt needs better coordination in tragedies and economy’

PETALING JAYA: Cabinet members and deputy ministers need better coordination not only during tragedies but also in economic matters, say political analysts.

Analysts say a more coordinated show by Cabinet members and deputy ministers would have given a better public perception of a unity government working together.

Universiti Sains Malaysia political scientist Dr Azmil Mohd Tayeb said the presence of too many ministers holding media conferences at the site of a tragedy gave the impression that they were campaigning.

“It seemed as if these ministers and their deputies are still in campaigning mode despite being in the post-15th general election and with a government in place.

“There should only be one spokesman on the ground for natural disasters such as this, preferably Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad as the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister.

“Other ministers could have held press conferences at their ministries to announce what they could do to help the victims,” he said.

However, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia political analyst Dr Mazlan Ali said the new government should be given time.

He said ministers not coordinating with each other during the aftermath of a tragedy might be due to the fact that it was still trying to figure out how its members should work together.

“Give them about 100 days to a year to get their act together, especially since this is a government made up of former rival parties.

“Ministers need time to be coordinated and this tragedy happened in the midst of the government still taking shape.

“The Prime Minister needs to do more monitoring as well as guide the new ministers.

“The ministers too should fully take part in more official government meetings to see how a government actually works,” said Mazlan.

Professor James Chin from the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania, Australia, said the actions of the ministers after a tragedy should not be a measuring tool of the “unity of a government”.

“I do not think it is a big issue when ministers hold their own press conferences at ground zero.

“In getting their act together, the landslide is not a good measure.

“The real measure of these ministers would be in the revival of the economy. You need all the ministries to work together,” he said.

One of the unusual features of the present government, said Chin, was that there were four to five ministries with a direct hand in matters related to the national economy.

“If these ministries cannot work together, it would be very difficult to revive the economy.

“The key here is the economy and not a tragedy’s aftermath,” he said.