Form a small Cabinet, double the duties of ministers
SHAH ALAM - Reconsider the appointment of too many deputy ministers in forming the Cabinet. In a twitter post, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change Managing Director Abdul Jalil Abdul Rasheed said the prime minister's first task was to form a smaller and more efficient government.
He explained that if two or three Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) posts were created, they would have to double the duties of the Coordinating Minister together with other Senior Ministers to regulate certain areas in key development growth areas such as infrastructure, security, and national and economic development.
"For example, finance, international trade, domestic trade is placed under the Economic Coordinating Minister while education and unity are placed under the National Development Coordinating Minister.
"In addition, the Infrastructure Coordinating Minister regulates finance and transport, while housing and law goes under the purview of the Security Coordinating Minister.
"It is an incomplete list but you can get an image and idea of it from there," he posted.
Anwar took his oath as the latest Prime Minister at Balai Singgahsana Kecil, Istana Negara at the capital, on Thursday.
Anwar informed the DPM position was expected to be given to the other strongest bloc in the unity government, namely Barisan Nasional (BN) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
The Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman had previously promised the first matter that would be done was to cut the prime minister's allowance if the coalition became the government.
He also promised to reduce the size of the Cabinet as well as cutiing the allowances and enforcing lower pay ministers and deputy ministers.
Jalil said the finance ministry was given many roles to avoid duplication and ensure decisions are made faster and the prime minister oversees them.
He said the government agencies under each ministry needed to be examined, to ensure that they are under the relevant ministries.
"For example, there are several departments related to transportation that need to be placed under the finance ministry," he said.
He suggested to restore the relevance of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) to be a one-stop centre for all economic development so that there was an ownership of all initiatives and project tracking or monitoring.
"With this system, you get better coordination in addition to not having to create any new roles and use existing agencies to provide more focus.
"Just sharing what other countries have done better in terms of implementation which is often a difficult point for governments," he explained.
