Cabinet reshuffle around the corner

THERE was a flicker of excitement when the Prime Minister’s car was seen going through the Palace gates on Friday (Sept 29) morning, that the Cabinet reshuffle was finally happening.

But it was apparently a routine audience with the King.

However, a reshuffle is imminent and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has made several references to it without quite giving away anything.

Anwar acknowledged an impending reshuffle for the first time a few days ago, saying he is "thinking about it." Then, more recently, he downplayed expectations saying it was basically about filling a vacancy.

A week earlier, during a gathering in New York, he asked the ministers on his entourage to brief the audience on what they had been doing and "to show us why they should remain as ministers."

A Putrajaya insider said it will not be major as predicted by a news portal or minor as claimed by a Malay daily.

But, said the insider, it will be substantial as the reshuffle will also involve the administrative organisation within the Prime Minister’s Department.

The Prime Minister intends to make adjustments to a team that was hastily drawn up in the tumultuous aftermath of the general election when his priority was to cobble together a government while accommodating the partners who helped make it possible.

One might say that was a trial team of former foes-turned-allies. Ten months down the road, Anwar has had enough time to assess the team’s strengths and shortcomings and make necessary changes.

His government has also survived the six state elections, won two by-elections in Johor and is fighting another one in Pahang.

There has been much speculation about who could be in and who might be out.

The sceptics think it will be a case of moving furniture around the room to give the Cabinet a new look without real change. Others say it has to be more than just renovating the bedroom of strange bedfellows.

"I see the PM as a Ferrari car that is ready to speed ahead. But he can only do that if he has a team that is capable of servicing a Ferrari. My guess is that he is looking at a Cabinet that can keep up with his pace," said Anwar’s chief political secretary Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar.

There is quite a bit of power play going on as political parties make their pitch but it is the Prime Minister’s absolute discretion to decide on the changes.

Speculation about the reshuffle has moved beyond filling the vacancy in the Domestic Trade and Living Costs Ministry.

Among some of the most circulated notions is that the Prime Minister is thinking of breaking up the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry to establish a new Energy Ministry as is the practice in many countries in recent years.

However, a well-placed source who is familiar with the Prime Minister’s concerns about costs and a bloated Cabinet, does not see that happening.

The same source was also doubtful about speculation about the return of the Federal Territories Ministry. The source said the recent appointment of a new Federal Territories director-general suggests that the Prime Minister was not moving to re-establish the ministry.

There is also speculation of a change in the Human Resource Ministry where public perception of wrongdoing refuses to go away.

But it is the speculation that the Prime Minister may appoint a second Finance Minister that has stirred and excited the business and financial sector.

The spotlight is clearly on Titiwangsa MP and Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Johari Ghani, the business and media mogul who is one of the most watched personalities in Umno.

It is learnt that the Prime Minister had privately met with Johari before leaving for New York and the fact that Anwar has publicly acknowledged Johari’s expertise on economic matters during Parliament sittings has not gone unnoticed.

The recent reshuffle of secretaries-general in several ministries is widely seen as a prelude to what lies ahead because the top civil servants play a crucial role in implementing policies.

"Politics is about delivery. When the PM formed the government, his advice to his ministers was to listen and work with the civil servants, to understand their ministries and focus on policies.

"It has been a challenging time because this is the first time in history where the PM has to rely on allies for the numbers. But the government is now on a stable footing and the PM knows what he wants to do," said Shamsul.

The impending changes to the Cabinet are not only about carrying Anwar to a full term. The impression is that Anwar or, at least his inner circle, is hopeful of a second term for the boss.

Anwar would be touching 80 by then but he is remarkably fit.

One of the questions posed to him at the final press conference during his New York trip was how he managed to keep in shape and maintain his energy level. The media corps noticed that he would be bursting with energy although his day started at 8am and ended at 11pm.

But fitness and health aside, the Prime Minister needs to fix the economy. The ordinary folk are not going to buy accounts of rosy economic statistics unless they can feel it in their pockets.

In that sense, the impending Cabinet reshuffle must, among other things, inject confidence and hope about the economy.