Cabinet reshuffle fails to reflect Dayak’s worth, says Masing BY DESMOND DAVIDSON 26 June 2014 Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Dr James Masing has expressed unhappiness over Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razaks minor cabinet reshuffle, claiming Najibs formula in allocating ministerial positions “doesnt reflect a component partys strength”. The president of one of Barisan Nasionals (BN) component parties in the East Malaysian state said the allocation of ministerial portfolios also ignored the contribution of the Dayak to the coalitions victory in the 2013 general election. PRS is presently the second largest party in the four-party Sarawak BN coalition. Masing said although he was pleased that MCA had returned to the cabinet, he was, however, disappointed that his partys request for a deputy minister’s post had been ignored. “The prime minister is aware of PRS’s wish. I have written to him. I will remind him again in due time,” Masing, who is also Sarawaks Land Development Minister, said when asked to comment on the cabinet reshuffle yesterday. Masings unhappiness stemmed from the fact that in the 2013 general election, PRS had won all the six seats it contested while MCA won only seven of the 37 seats it was allocated. With seven Members of Parliament (MPs), MCA has been given two full ministerial posts following the cabinet reshuffle – its president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai is now the Transport Minister while his deputy Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong has been appointed Minister in the Prime Ministers Department. The party was also given three deputy ministers posts. Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun was appointed Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister, Datuk Chua Tee Yong was appointed Deputy Finance Minister, while Datuk Lee Chee Leong was made Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister. All three are MCA vice-presidents, with Chew and Lee to be made senators. Masing said on the other hand, PRS with six MPs had only one representation in the cabinet – Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun, Minister in the Prime Ministers Department. “The government is decided by the number of seats a party won during an election, not by the number of members a party has,” he said. Masing was also peeved that his partys strength had been equated with that of the Chinese-majority Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP) which won only one seat, a Dayak seat, in the seven it was given to contest in the general election. Even with one seat, SUPP was given a ministers post in the cabinet – Datuk Richard Riot, the SUPP deputy president, was appointed Human Resources Minister. Another Sarawak BN party, the now-fragmented Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), won four seats in the election but was not represented in the cabinet. “These three parties collectively contributed 10 seats to the BN, but they were only given four full ministerial posts and three deputy minister’s posts. “Between PRS and SPDP, we contributed nine seats, and yet we are given only one full minister’s post. “In all honesty, I cant say PRS is happy with our allocation even though the appointment of ministers is the prime ministers prerogative. “I just hope that in the very near future, due consideration will be given to PRS for its big contribution in making it possible for BN to administer this nation. “Dont continue to ignore us, otherwise our voters will ignore us come the 14th general election,” said the outspoken Masing.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 03:46:52 +0000
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