Malaysia PM keeps faith with old guard in new cabinet<\/p>\n
Reuters
\nKuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Fresh from a landslide election victory that owed much to a
\nstrong antigraft platform, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah
\nAhmad Badawi kept faith with the old guard when he named a new
\ncabinet on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The retirement of five ministers who had served under his
\npredecessor, veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad, and the resignation
\nof another allowed Abdullah to bring in some young blood.<\/p>\n
He also created several new portfolios.<\/p>\n
\"This is to give some new faces a chance. Those who were not
\nincluded, (it) doesn't mean that they were implicated in crime or
\ncorruption,\" Abdullah told a news conference.<\/p>\n
Otherwise there was a strong sense of continuity from a prime
\nminister who had appeared bent on differentiating his
\nadministration from Mahathir's since taking over in October.<\/p>\n
Abdullah, whose \"Mr Clean\" image was a key factor in beating
\nthe Islamist opposition last Sunday, kept the finance portfolio
\nfor himself.<\/p>\n
But to lighten his load, Abdullah broke up the Home Ministry,
\ncreating a new Internal Security Ministry, which he will control.
\nNew Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid is one of the younger
\ngeneration the prime minister is keen to promote.<\/p>\n
Abdullah retained Nor Mohamed Yakcop, an ex-central banker who
\nhad been Mahathir's economic adviser, as Second Finance Minister,
\nand brought in Mustapa Mohamed, an economist with prior
\nexperience at the Finance Ministry, as a minister in the Prime
\nMinister's Department.<\/p>\n
Najib Razak, who Abdullah promoted as deputy prime minister in
\nJanuary, kept the number two spot and the defense minister
\nposition.<\/p>\n
Syed Hamid Albar, foreign minister since 1999, held on to his
\njob despite being associated in the international community with
\nsome of Mahathir's more controversial positions, notably over
\nrelations between the West and the Islamic world.<\/p>\n
Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz, ever present in Mahathir cabinets
\nand longest serving minister in World Trade Organization (WTO)
\nnegotiations, also kept her post.<\/p>\n
The other rising star is Najib's cousin, Hishammuddin Hussein,
\nwho was promoted from the sports ministry to education minister.<\/p>\n
There were few casualties.<\/p>\n
After Abdullah read the list, the first question in the news
\nconference which followed was whether the cabinet was clean.<\/p>\n
\"Yes. There's no case for them not to be appointed,\" Abdullah
\nresponded. He added: \"Being a minister doesn't give them immunity
\nfrom the due process of the law.\"<\/p>\n
The line-up drew a scathing assessment from the opposition
\nleader, whose secular party won the most parliamentary seats
\namong the opposition parties in Sunday's polls.<\/p>\n
\"If integrity and the perception of integrity are among the
\nindispensable criteria for the selection of cabinet ministers,
\nthen the first Abdullah cabinet has failed the acid test,\" said
\nLim Kit Siang, a veteran leader of the Democratic Action Party.<\/p>",
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