Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Create new ministry for Zuraida? Absurd, says DAP MP



Create new ministry for Zuraida? Absurd, says DAP MP


Ipoh Timur MP Wong Kah Woh said the Cabinet already has 31 members compared to 28 in the previous PH government. (Bernama pic)


PETALING JAYA: DAP MP Wong Kah Woh has ridiculed the suggestion to create a new ministry so Zuraida Kamaruddin can retain her Cabinet post while Bersatu maintains its ministerial quota.

Ipoh Timur MP Wong Kah Woh said Malaysia already has enough ministries with Ismail Sabri Yaakob in the top post and 31 ministers in the Cabinet.


Wong, who is the chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, said creating another ministry just to keep Zuraida as a minister and pacify Bersatu will be “adding fat to a bloated” Cabinet.

“The Pakatan Harapan government’s Cabinet in 2018 only had 28 members despite having a larger majority in the number of MPs,” he said in a Facebook post.

“But the energy, science, technology, environment and climate change ministry was then split into three different ministries, namely the energy and natural resources; science, technology and innovation; and environment and water ministries.

“This was not due to the complexity of the jobs, but merely a ‘job creation exercise’ for the government MPs in order to gain their continuous support.”

Yesterday, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin said the prime minister had the liberty to keep Zuraida in his Cabinet, as long as Bersatu had its ministerial quota.

He said Ismail could even create a new ministry for Zuraida if he wanted to, adding that this was “his right”.


He urged Ismail to quickly decide on Zuraida’s position, saying he already had a candidate to replace her.

Zuraida, the plantation industries and commodities minister, was appointed to her current Cabinet portfolio on Aug 27 last year when she was with Bersatu. She left the party to join Parti Bangsa Malaysia on May 26.

Bersatu’s leadership previously said Zuraida should be replaced by someone from the party because the ministerial position was under its quota.


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