Malaysia PM keeps faith with old guard in new cabinet

Malaysia PM keeps faith with old guard in new cabinet

Reuters Kuala Lumpur

Fresh from a landslide election victory that owed much to a strong antigraft platform, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi kept faith with the old guard when he named a new cabinet on Saturday.

The retirement of five ministers who had served under his predecessor, veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad, and the resignation of another allowed Abdullah to bring in some young blood.

He also created several new portfolios.

"This is to give some new faces a chance. Those who were not included, (it) doesn't mean that they were implicated in crime or corruption," Abdullah told a news conference.

Otherwise there was a strong sense of continuity from a prime minister who had appeared bent on differentiating his administration from Mahathir's since taking over in October.

Abdullah, whose "Mr Clean" image was a key factor in beating the Islamist opposition last Sunday, kept the finance portfolio for himself.

But to lighten his load, Abdullah broke up the Home Ministry, creating a new Internal Security Ministry, which he will control. New Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid is one of the younger generation the prime minister is keen to promote.

Abdullah retained Nor Mohamed Yakcop, an ex-central banker who had been Mahathir's economic adviser, as Second Finance Minister, and brought in Mustapa Mohamed, an economist with prior experience at the Finance Ministry, as a minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

Najib Razak, who Abdullah promoted as deputy prime minister in January, kept the number two spot and the defense minister position.

Syed Hamid Albar, foreign minister since 1999, held on to his job despite being associated in the international community with some of Mahathir's more controversial positions, notably over relations between the West and the Islamic world.

Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz, ever present in Mahathir cabinets and longest serving minister in World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, also kept her post.

The other rising star is Najib's cousin, Hishammuddin Hussein, who was promoted from the sports ministry to education minister.

There were few casualties.

After Abdullah read the list, the first question in the news conference which followed was whether the cabinet was clean.

"Yes. There's no case for them not to be appointed," Abdullah responded. He added: "Being a minister doesn't give them immunity from the due process of the law."

The line-up drew a scathing assessment from the opposition leader, whose secular party won the most parliamentary seats among the opposition parties in Sunday's polls.

"If integrity and the perception of integrity are among the indispensable criteria for the selection of cabinet ministers, then the first Abdullah cabinet has failed the acid test," said Lim Kit Siang, a veteran leader of the Democratic Action Party.