KUCHING: Will there be a major reshuffle before the year is out? Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Dato Sri Dr James Masing believes there could be one.
“There may still be a major one. I think it is normal that every now and then the CM would want to re-align his crew,” the Land Development Minister said when met at a function yesterday. Indeed Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud did say on one occasion that a major reshuffle may be made after the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Triennial Delegates’ Conference (TDC) in December. On July 12, Taib told reporters at the Kuching International Airport that he did not want the cabinet reshuffle to distract SUPP’s TDC delegates during a meeting he considered crucial for the party’s future.
“It (cabinet reshuffle) will have to wait until after the SUPP TDC. I do not want to create any issue before the TDC because I would like to see SUPP thinking of their future and how to strengthen and renew the party above all other issues,” Taib said. Therefore, watching out for a date after SUPP’s December TDC does look proper, and this is probably why Masing is confident of another reshuffle. For the PRS chief, Thursday’s reshuffle was not just minor but could be “a prelude to a major one later this year”.
“There may still be a major one. I think it is normal that every now and then the CM would want to re-align his crew,” the Land Development Minister said when met at a function yesterday. Indeed Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud did say on one occasion that a major reshuffle may be made after the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Triennial Delegates’ Conference (TDC) in December. On July 12, Taib told reporters at the Kuching International Airport that he did not want the cabinet reshuffle to distract SUPP’s TDC delegates during a meeting he considered crucial for the party’s future.
“It (cabinet reshuffle) will have to wait until after the SUPP TDC. I do not want to create any issue before the TDC because I would like to see SUPP thinking of their future and how to strengthen and renew the party above all other issues,” Taib said. Therefore, watching out for a date after SUPP’s December TDC does look proper, and this is probably why Masing is confident of another reshuffle. For the PRS chief, Thursday’s reshuffle was not just minor but could be “a prelude to a major one later this year”.
MAJOR RESHUFFLE COMING? Masing speaking to reporters after the function. At left is Yap.
“I was quite surprised, I must admit it. But then it is normal that every now and then the CM needs to realign his crew so that each one of us (state cabinet members) fits into the mould. It’s not unusual,” Masing said. Asked if the switch of portfolios between Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh and Datuk Michael Manyin Jawong suggested anything, Masing said something to the effect that it could be that Wong’s new post of Minister of Environment and Public Health had something to do with local government matters involving the urban Chinese.
Masing promptly added: “Each one of us is given a chance to perform certain duties and after a while the CM will see where to fit us. The longer you are in certain areas, the more experience you would acquire.” Before the reshuffle Wong who is SUPP deputy secretary-general was the Urban Development and Tourism Minister which Manyin, a PBB vice-president, now holds beginning yesterday. Thursday’s minor reshuffle also saw PBB supreme council member Mohd Naroden Majais appointed as the Assistant Minister of Planning and Resource Management while retaining his Assistant Minister of Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development portfolio.
SPDP secretary-general Sylvester Entrie Muran takes over Naroden’s previous post of Assistant Minister of Land Development while retaining his Assistant Minister of Public Utilities (Water Supply) portfolio. Sarawak minister and assistant minister posts are divided among the four state coalition parties according to their representation in the State Legislative Assembly. Even after Thursday’s reshuffle, there are still nine full ministers and 16 assistant ministers. Twelve of them hold either two or three portfolios each.
SUPP, the state’s oldest party, had lost two assistant ministers post after the May 2006 polls, the party’s worst election outing so far. It lost eight out of its 19 contested seats and among the casualties were the two assistant ministers and the then mayor of Kuching City South. It presently has two full ministers and four assistant ministers. It is no secret that SUPP wants the two posts back, thus would certainly welcome a major reshuffle. SUPP president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan is a deputy chief minister as well as the Modernisation of Agriculture Minister and the Industrial Development Minister. Wong is Second Finance Minister the Environment and Public Health Minister.
The assistant ministers are Datuk David Teng (Modernisation of Agriculture and Local Government), Datuk Dr Soon Choon Teck (Housing), Lee Kim Shin (Infrastructure Development and Communication) and Francis Harden Hollis (Land Development). The May 2006 election left SUPP reeling. Cracks started to appear and the party had spent much of 2006 trying to put things right. The party now appears to be rejuvenating itself though there may still be some unresolved issues. The coming TDC is especially important for SUPP because delegates need to seriously consider how to move forward.
As for the other coalition parties, PBB has five full ministers and eight assistant ministers, while PRS and SPDP each has a full minister and two assistant ministers. SPDP would like to believe that it still has one vacancy to fill following the demise of Datuk Dr Judson Tagal in July 12, 2004. The former Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department died in a helicopter crash in Bario.
SPDP secretary-general Sylvester Entrie Muran takes over Naroden’s previous post of Assistant Minister of Land Development while retaining his Assistant Minister of Public Utilities (Water Supply) portfolio. Sarawak minister and assistant minister posts are divided among the four state coalition parties according to their representation in the State Legislative Assembly. Even after Thursday’s reshuffle, there are still nine full ministers and 16 assistant ministers. Twelve of them hold either two or three portfolios each.
SUPP, the state’s oldest party, had lost two assistant ministers post after the May 2006 polls, the party’s worst election outing so far. It lost eight out of its 19 contested seats and among the casualties were the two assistant ministers and the then mayor of Kuching City South. It presently has two full ministers and four assistant ministers. It is no secret that SUPP wants the two posts back, thus would certainly welcome a major reshuffle. SUPP president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan is a deputy chief minister as well as the Modernisation of Agriculture Minister and the Industrial Development Minister. Wong is Second Finance Minister the Environment and Public Health Minister.
The assistant ministers are Datuk David Teng (Modernisation of Agriculture and Local Government), Datuk Dr Soon Choon Teck (Housing), Lee Kim Shin (Infrastructure Development and Communication) and Francis Harden Hollis (Land Development). The May 2006 election left SUPP reeling. Cracks started to appear and the party had spent much of 2006 trying to put things right. The party now appears to be rejuvenating itself though there may still be some unresolved issues. The coming TDC is especially important for SUPP because delegates need to seriously consider how to move forward.
As for the other coalition parties, PBB has five full ministers and eight assistant ministers, while PRS and SPDP each has a full minister and two assistant ministers. SPDP would like to believe that it still has one vacancy to fill following the demise of Datuk Dr Judson Tagal in July 12, 2004. The former Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department died in a helicopter crash in Bario.
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