The Cabinet

By Jeff Ooi

It's a false alarm. Those who think Najib Razak will name his new Cabinet today may be in for disappointment. D-Day is tomorrow, 3pm.

UPDATES: Incidentally tomorrow, the day Najib announces his new Cabinet, the verdict on the murder of Altantuya will be pronounced at the Shah Alam High Court.

The fate of the two police special action force personnel who were charged with murdering that Mongolian woman, namely Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar -- largely seen as the scapegoats to protect certain luminaries -- will be decided.

However, the mastermind who gave them the order to kill might never be made known.

As at late last night, Little Birds told Screenshots, Najib still couldn't make up his mind as yet. Horse trading is still on-going and he hesitated if political rejects -- those who failed to get electorally elected during GE2008 -- should be included as ministers.

More so, Najib has to decide if Emperor Dowager could dictate that perasuah (corrupts) like Khairy Jamaluddin -- the Son-in-Law tainted by alleged money politics in Umno -- must be hanged to dry outside the Cabinet.

In his blog, Che Det bluntly said:

Saya percaya dia tidak akan pilih perasuah yang terkenal dan diketahui umum seperti Khairy dan beberapa lagi sebagai Menteri atau anggota Kerajaan.

Meanwhile, contradictions of a zero-sum game within BN has surfaced in view of Najib's intention to reduce the size of the Cabinet. In particular, MCA is said to be worried that the Chinese-dominated Gerakan will be given a minister's post at its expense.

For context to the issue, please read my series on How many Tsu Koons does it take to make a Najib's cabinet? here.

'Status quo? Far from it!'

Does Najib have a mind of his own? It ain't status quo, warns Bridget Welsh of John Hopkins University-SAIS (Southeast Asian Studies), Washington DC. She was in Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau to observe the by-elections.

Is Najib's "One Malaysia, Performance Now" a PR slogan much better sounding than Dr M's "Bersih, Cekap, Amanah" or Abdullah's "Work with Me, Not for Me"?

Watch this space as we chain Najib to his reform agenda. Let's start with eradicating corruption -- and the corrupt -- within Umno.