When a minister is just a messenger, not a leader

Cabinet Minister Nancy Shukri gave a written reply in Parliament this week over the government's inaction on Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali's threat to burn bibles.

It was a written reply because the question by Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak did not make to Question Time when Parliament convened this week.

Now, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and de facto Law Minister is blaming The Malaysian Insider for making it look like she defended Ibrahim Ali and she took to her Twitter microblogging account to say she was merely conveying the views of government agencies.

In her written reply, she said the police concluded that Ibrahim's words were only directed at specific individuals, and not a threat to larger society.

"The statement he made was not intended to cause religious chaos but only to defend the sanctity of Islam," Nancy said in the written reply.

Right. So that conclusion and Ibrahim's desire to defend the sanctity of Islam came from the police and the Attorney-General and Nancy is just the messenger?

So is that the role of a minister? Postman and messenger? Is she one of the 35 postmen and messengers in the Najib government?

We already have a state broadcaster and news agency, do we need more messengers for government departments and agencies now?

And is Nancy now saying she does not agree with the police or the A-G's position on not taking the case further against Ibrahim?

Is she going to quit in protest? That is what Datuk Zaid Ibrahim did on principle. Will Nancy follow suit or is she just happy to be a messenger?

There are 35 Cabinet ministers, 10 of them in the Prime Minister's Department, which also has one deputy minister. There used to be parliamentary secretaries whose job was to answer questions on behalf of ministries but those jobs were abolished to save money.

But Nancy seems to suggest that is her duty now. She is not responsible for what the police and the A-G decides, but will merely and dutifully put up their replies in Parliament.

That really is not the job of a minister. The Prime Minister has a Cabinet that helps him run the country as part of the executive, which also includes the A-G and the police. It is a heavy responsibility but comes with perks and respect.

So, Nancy cannot have it both ways. She wants to be a minister, enjoy the perks but can't take criticism for an indefensible position.

French philosopher Voltaire said "With great power, comes great responsibility", so Nancy must learn to take the bouquets with the brickbats. And if she does not agree with what the police has concluded, she should say so.

We do not need any more messengers, we just need leaders. The ones who will take responsibility no matter what. – October 11, 2014.

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