Team Malaysia

1. When I saw the list of new Ministers (M) and Deputy Ministers (DM) announced by PM Najib, I was relieved and in fact pleased with his picks. Well, if he could, he would have selected the best but being a politician, a technocrat, a leader of a multi-cultured nation and a human, he has many factors to consider.

2. To me, when choosing his 29 Ms (including himself) and 40 DMs, PM Najib was picking his best 'players' for a football team. All managers or coaches would love to have a Dream Team but that is never the case. Just look at Real Madrid of Spain, having all eleven Super-Stars on the field DID NOT make them the best in the World. Hence, I believe this is PM Najib's best possible Team Malaysia.

3. One thing for sure, based my observation of the new Ms and compared to those in the previous few administrations, this is by far the best group of Ms that Malaysia has ever have. I feel that there are more Ms now who are capable enough and who really willing to roll-up their sleeves and work for you and me. Topping that, we can see that there are more Ms and DMs who are with good educational background and experience. After all, this Cabinet is crucial for PM Najib politically as he has only less than 4 years before the next general election. The performance of these Ms and DMs will affect his premiership and the rulling Gov.

4. DPM Muhyiddin has got strong support within his party due to his previous post of Chief Minister (CM) of Johor. If he can administrate a big state like Johor (state development, agriculture, royal family & relationship with Singapore), I am sure he will do well as DPM and Education M. I foresee he will maintain Science & Maths in English. And perhaps, he will overhaul the current education system in the country, an issue that has been up in the air for many years. We need a powerful man with a strong will, sitting in this Ministry to make this happen.

5. MCA President Ong was the only winning Member of Parliament (MP) of Barisan Nasional rulling Gov in the whole of Kuala Lumpur area during Mac 8 election. I attended one MCA function where he, as the President of MCA, spoke openly about the weaknesses of his party and critically reminded his party members to buck up, be humble and work much harder to win the hearts of the Chinese. Based on his speech, I think this man is sincere in trying to change things in MCA. How many of our leaders have the balls to voice out for the better? This man has always been gutsy and still is. To me, MCA still has hope as long as he is the President and in Gov.

6. Gerakan Chief Koh, despite the many criticism he received when he was the CM of Penang, I still believe he is a capable man for the job. He was gracious with his defeat in Batu Kawan and like Ong, he was the few who openly talked about the reasons for BN's failures. He has always been tipped for Federal post and now he gets it. I am sure he would not want to screw this up. And he has to work hard to show the PM that Gerakan can contribute and is still relevant in Gov.

7. EPU M, Nor Yakcop may not be the best speaker in public forums and was claimed to have caused Malaysia to lose billions in forex management. However, he was one of the few key men who contributed to the Malaysian Recovery from the 1997 financial crisis. His previous mistakes, if true and if learned, coupled with his 1997 experience and finance expertise, can be beneficial to Malaysia at this time.

8. Hishammuddin, our Home M, will definitely be a better man for the job compared to his predecessor. I once saw him in KLIA walking towards the departure gates with his wife and his assistants. Both he and his wife were dressed casually but not luxury. To me, he is one of least arrogant leaders we have. The Keris was just one that he had to do or forced to do politically. In the end, his movement has chose not to raise the Keris again, which I think it was a 'sacrifice' well-appreciated by others. Apart from that, his political track record does not come with controversy. Being the new VP of UMNO and entrusted with this powerful Ministry, he has the motivation to perform better in Gov.

9. Info, Comm, Cul and Arts M Rais Yatim fits the bill as he did good in his previous Cul and Arts portfolio as well as he is one of the better orator in both English and BM, and is a very knowledgeable man. Just watch some of his interviews and speeches, you will definitely agree with me. Importantly, he was also another one who criticised his previous boss. I bet there will be lots of changes at RTM, our poor National TV Station. One thing for sure, he will definitely fare way better compared to his predecessor in Public Debate (Remember Shabery vs Anwar?).

10. Kelantan Man, MITI M Mustapha Mohamed, posses one of the best educational background among his colleagues in the Cabinet. He was a graduate of Uni of Melbourne with a first class degree in Economics, Masters in Economic Development from Uni of Boston in the US, and is a Honorary Doctorate of Commerce from University of Melbourne. At work, he is known to be a smart workaholic, a common trait among my Kelantanese friends. He had the highest number of votes for the UMNO Supreme Council and is a low profile politician. His economic expertise, having served the Cabinet in many occasions, will be valuable to the administration.

11. Ng Yen Yen always smile when appearing in public. She carries herself well in public and is fluent in English. I believe these are important criteria which a Tourism M must have in marketing our country to the world. These were the missing criteria in our previous Tourism Ms. Looking back at her past 3 predecessors, I believe she will outperform all of them easily. I am sure there must be a good reason why the members in a male dominated MCA has chosen her as one the VPs in the party.

12. Peter Chin, Nazri, Bernard Dompok and Anifah Aman are still in Gov mainly because of political reasons. The rest of the Ms has lots to prove as many are still relatively new Ms. Same goes for the DMs. I agree with a report in The Star that this group of DMs are pushed to the front line now as they are tipped to be successors of future administrations. Just look at the whole list and if you follow Malaysian politics, only a handful of the 40 DMs you and I actually recognise.

13. PM Najib has been in the Gov for more than 30 years and I am sure his selections, if ever wrong, will not go wrong too far. He is familiar with Gov administration and he wants to try running the Gov like a business corporation with performance indicators and evaluation.

14. Historically, there were many promises for change but these must come with strong will to execute efficiently. Follow Up must be Followed Through.