KUALA LUMPUR – Appointing defeated election candidates as ministers is a power to be used sparingly, and only with justifiable basis as to the person’s qualifications and capabilities, political observers said.
Since the 15th general election results were announced, there have been calls for certain defeated candidates to be made senators so they can be appointed to the federal cabinet.
One such person is PKR’s Maszlee Malik, who lost the Simpang Renggam seat he defended for Pakatan Harapan (PH), but is still regarded by some as most qualified to be education minister.
An online petition – “Sokong Dr Maszlee Menerajui KPM” (Support Dr Maszlee to head MoE) – has been launched on change.org to return him to his former post under the PH government from 2018 to 2022.
However, political observers question whether this is appropriate, considering that a defeated candidate is the expression of the people’s will in an election.
Voters who rejected the candidate as their representative will be “wronged” if the person is brought into the government, they added.
Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said reappointing individuals who lost in GE15 as senators and to the cabinet is, on one hand, a good way to bring in qualified people into the government.
He pointed out that former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin is one such person of whom such suggestions are being made.
“The position of senator is intended to bring additional talent into the cabinet, but such appointments should not be misused,” Oh told Getaran, The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister news portal.
“This is also considering that the quota for MPs to be appointed as ministers is also smaller,” he added, in reference to new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s plan for a smaller cabinet.
The cabinet under the last two administrations led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had 70 ministers and deputy ministers.
While Anwar plans to reduce the size of the cabinet, he has to juggle appeasing the Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalitions, in addition to PH, since his government comprises these coalitions.
Fakhrurrazi Rashid, research coordinator at Research for Social Advancement, also agreed that Anwar should exercise care when appointing new senators.
It is important to ensure that those appointed are really qualified, can contribute to government policy, and understand the importance of the institution of Parliament,” he said.
Fakhrurrazi added that Senate appointments should be reviewed to show that the new government values the role of the Dewan Negara.
“This review or filtering will also show that the government makes Senate appointments not as part of any ‘scheme of things’ that would erode the people’s trust,” he added, using a phrase various politicians have mentioned when talking about the Sheraton Move and party-hopping to change governments throughout the last two years.
For the long term, the new government could also launch moves to democratise the Dewan Negara, such as by selecting senators through elections.
“This (electing senators) will strengthen the voice of the people in Parliament,” Fakhrurrazi added. – The Vibes, December 1, 2022
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