Senior Ministers?

We know that Lee Kuan Yew held the post of Senior Minister (1990 - 2004) and subsequently Minister Mentor (2004 - 2011) in the Singapore cabinet. In the first stretch as Senior Minister he was in Goh Chok Tong's Cabinet, but I bet, assuredly he had veto powers over poor PM Goh, wakakaka.

Then in 2004, Goh handed the PM-rein to Lee Hsien Loong, when Chye-Chye as the new PM named his dad as Minister Mentor in his cabinet, and outgoing PM Goh as Senior Minister. Those Sings weren't taking chances with young Chye-Chye, wakakaka. Anyway, both the two seniors retired in 2011, leaving Chye-Chye to go 'solo' after 7 years of mentored and supervised PM-ship.

I wonder why Mahathir didn't ape Lee KY, though I recognise that by the time of the 2004 GE his name was mud, and he would have dragged AAB down - he recognised that he was mighty unpopular which was probably why he retired in a flash. Mind, subsequently he did just that, dragged AAB down, all by himself, wakakaka.

That sabotage of AAB showed Mahathir's obsessive craze for power and an intolerance for the plans, decisions and efforts of another PM which didn't meet his own. Some people have been (are) like that, thinking they are god's gift(s) to mankind and that only their policies, decisions and programmes would be the ones acceptable and workable.

Of course Mahathir's animosity towards AAB was compounded by AAB not playing puppet to his whims and fancies. And that KJ (s-i-l to AAB) was the one who actually ran the PM Office added on to Mahathir's fury.

Mahathir's propensity to sabotage and undermine another PM was repeated during Najib's tenure, not so much because of 1MDB as he would have us believe, but because Najib had been like AAB, working along his own PM's path, yes, perhaps 'advised' by his wife Rosmah, wakakaka. 

As KJ was to AAB, Rosmah might have been to Najib - both cases riling the Old Imperialistic Dictator.

The nearest we have to 'senior minister' or 'minister mentor' in Malaysian political history had been the (unwelcome, wakakaka) intrusive meddling of the PM's administration by Mahathir himself during AAB and Najib's terms.

Dei PM Najib, you haven't reported to me for 6 months. How dare you? 

But in Mahathir's 2nd reign (May 2018 - Feb 2020) there was his Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) acting as virtually (non-elected) senior ministers, basically cronies and technocrats to personally advise him. Yes, Mahathir was a PM who didn't like to discuss and/or mutually discuss policies with his cabinet members - people he must have considered in general, obstructive and at best, troublesome. Advice OK lah, but don't tell him what was best or what to do - how could any cabinet member be ever better than him? Wakakaka.

Then came along the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, an amazing and indeed fortuitous return to power for principally UMNO only after 2 years in the 'barren' wilderness (wakakaka), all because one SOLE person who in selfish disgraceful wilful merajuk fashion resigned abruptly (refusing to handover to Anwar Ibrahim as he had stated - KHAT eSS who was guarantor that he would should resign on this broken promise).

The PN cabinet now has 4 senior ministers but NOT one of them was a former PM like a senior minister in the Sing cabinet was, although, mind you, there is one among the 4 who has fancied himself as one, wakakaka.

should have been made minister of 'DEFENCE' wakakaka 

The 4 are:

(i)  Azmin Ali (PPBM) - minister of MITI

(ii) Fadillah Yusof (Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu) - minister of works

(iii) Ismail Sabri (UMNO) - minister of defence

(iv) Radzi Jidin (PPBM) - minister of education.

Of the four, the most inexperienced minister is Azmin Ali (Minister of Economics in the Harapan government for less than two years), yet he has been anointed Most Senior of the Senior Ministers, wakakaka.

As logic informs us, it's just a division of the loot after the political coup d'etat with PPBM (Parti PRIBUMI) getting the lion's share, and also avoiding filling the DPM post in order not to 'hurt' the feelings of a DPM wannabe.

PAS didn't get any until recently when Pak Haji Hadi Awang was made Special Envoy to the Middle-East, with ministerial status (of 'senior' status? wakakaka).

The term 'Senior Minister' in the Malaysian context is akin somewhat to the status of officers in early-days Communist China. Then, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) didn't have rank insignia for their officers to show their new classless society - yes, the no-rank system was purportedly to show their communist-equality, but in practicality, PLA officers were noted to have a pen or two stuck in their shirt/suit front pockets, wakakaka.

marvellous, but where can I stick some pens on their blouses? 

But I shudder to think that if/should Muhyiddin collapse, Assmin will become the PM.

clever Haziq knew where to stick his 'pen', wakakaka
but the poor IGP still 'doesn't know' where to look for it