FocusM view: No salary pledge will remain a gimmick if end-of-day delivery sucks

[superadmin]

IT does not matter if the unity government led by Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wishes to have two, three or even more Deputies PM (DPM) but do ensure that those DPM wannabes first agreed to be paid modest salaries for a start.

As it is inevitable for the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman to have a bloated Cabinet given the need to lure as many politicians as possible to his side, Anwar can perhaps resort to an ‘intense’ salary adjustment scheme by slashing unjustified remuneration expenses (especially allowances or sorts) currently borne by the also bloated administration of his predecessor.

On paper at least, this shouldn’t be a cumbersome task for Anwar considering that majority of his potential DPMs and ministers are not eyeing monetary reward as much as lusting for power and position.

The next measure that Anwar needs to embark upon is perhaps more challenging given that the unprecedented unity government concept has never been tested in Malaysia’s 65-year history (save to say it has been a one-party rule system all the way by Barisan Nasional except for PH’s short-lived 22 months administration).

Anwar can expect a big headache to pick his so-called ‘henchmen’ whereby he has to juggle between party quotas to reflect his unity government and selecting the most qualified men and women for the job. This is not that talent is lacking among the MPs by his side but their political affiliation makes the whole process complicated.

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