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Malaysian PM's Cabinet choices may lead to major upheaval in Umno Yesterday's announcement of the Cabinet line-up offered clues to Datuk Seri Abdullah's political gameplan in the coming months. By Leslie Lopez, THE STRAITS TIMES
THE line-up of Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi's new Cabinet indicates that the embattled Premier appears determined to deal with dissatisfaction over the state of the country's troubled judiciary and the slow implementation of development projects. But, while he included several of his loyalists, the new line-up is not likely to endear him to his ruling Umno, which is still reeling from its worst electoral setback in decades. Yesterday's announcement of the Cabinet line-up offered clues to Datuk Seri Abdullah's political gameplan in the coming months. Many analysts see it as a high-risk gamble that may buy him time but could also precipitate major upheaval in Umno and raise the country's already high political and economic risk profile. The exclusion of three key Umno warlords - former international trade minister Rafidah Aziz, former tourism minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and former science and technology minister Jamaluddin Jarjis - has already triggered unease among the party's rank and file about Datuk Seri Abdullah's position as Umno president. His choice of Johor strongman Muhyiddin Yasin, the country's former agriculture minister, for the powerful international trade portfolio has also raised speculation that Malaysia's leadership succession is now an open issue. Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, long considered the heir apparent to Datuk Seri Abdullah, was reappointed Defence Minister. But he lost a key ally in the Cabinet with the exclusion of Datuk Jamaluddin. With Datuk Seri Najib's position in Umno open to potential challenge, party insiders say that could jeopardise Datuk Seri Abdullah's own reconfirmation as party president when the party holds its own elections. 'The fighting has started and everything is up for grabs (when Umno holds its elections),' says a veteran Umno division chief from Penang. The Umno-led Barisan Nasional coalition government suffered its worst electoral setback in decades last week when it lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament and five of Malaysia's 13 states. The loss of key states such as Penang and Selangor has raised questions about Umno's legitimacy as the chief patron of the country's politically dominant Malay community. Several Umno leaders have publicly blamed Datuk Seri Abdullah's alleged weak leadership for the poor performance and several Umno leaders have called on him to resign as leader of the party and government. Yesterday, Datuk Seri Abdullah clearly signalled that he was not going to be pressured out of office - at least not yet. The highly-publicised scandals in the judiciary and weakening economy were key campaign issues in the elections. The appointments of prominent lawyer Zaid Ibrahim as a minister in the Prime Minister's Department and former banker Amirsham Aziz to oversee the development of infrastructure projects were clearly aimed at tackling those grouses. Faced with a possible backlash from Umno, Datuk Seri Abdullah also packed his Cabinet with loyalists and moved to undercut the influence of key party leaders, such as Datuk Seri Najib, party insiders say. Chief among them is the new International Trade Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin, the most senior of Umno's three vice-presidents, who has long been seen as the dark-horse candidate in the succession race for the Umno leadership. Tan Sri Muhyiddin's promotion came together with the rising clout of the Johor Umno chapter in the Cabinet. Former foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar, also from Johor, was moved to the powerful Home Ministry, while Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, the son of a former prime minister, was retained as Education Minister. More notably, Datuk Seri Abdullah revived the political fortunes of maverick Johor politician Shahrir Samad, also a key ally, by appointing him Minister to the influential Trade and Consumer Affairs portfolio. The rise of the so-called Johor Umno is seen as a counterbalance to Datuk Seri Najib's enormous clout in the party and government. Datuk Seri Najib is not a confrontational politician. But Umno's weak electoral showing had triggered speculation that the deputy premier could be egged on by impatient supporters to mount a challenge or initiate a party rebellion against Datuk Seri Abdullah. Although that prospect now appears unlikely after yesterday's Cabinet announcement, most analysts see turmoil ahead for Umno.
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The Blogs 
In the coming UMNO General Meeting will be known as "the UMNO internal affairs". Every loyalist dogs will be there to fight for their own respective masters !