PKR needs to let Dr M do his job

Why is Rafizi doing this? Now is not the time for airing grouses in public.

After 61 years of BN rule, people want the new Pakatan government to get off the ground running. And Dr M duly complied.

If anyone was concerned that Najib and gang might be let off the hook in some kind of amnesty deal, that notion was quashed when Dr M announced that the AG and MACC would be investigated for any potential cover-ups. He also ordered the police to unseal the 1MDB reports. For good measure he barred Najib and Rosmah from leaving the country. And before the night was through, he had the police raid one of Najib's apartments in search for documents and Birkin bags (not kidding).

As for his Cabinet, Dr M quickly announced that it would be a small (actually very tiny) one with only 10 portfolios named. He subsequently named three key ministers: Lim Guan Eng for Finance, Mat Sabu for Defence and Muhyiddin for Home Affairs. Seven more would be named later after further consultation.

He also named Daim (former Finance Minister), Zeti (former Bank Negara Governor), Robert Kuok (Malaysia's richest tycoon), Hassan (former Petronas President) and KS Jomo (prominent economist) as members of a council of elders to advise the government.

The immediate general public reaction on social media was very positive. People liked the fact that all component parties were represented in the initial line up of ministers. The fact that Guan Eng, as a Chinese, was named Finance Minister is a breaking of the glass ceiling of sorts. After Tun Tan Siew Sin was named the first Finance Minister after Merdeka, there has never been another non-Malay in that role. Some people might question Mat Sabu's suitability for Defence but they liked that Amanah got such a prominent position. Muhyiddin for Home Affairs seems right. It's a prominent position fitting of his seniority.

As for the council of elders, it's also a pretty good slate of people. Some might be critical of the fact that Daim is an old guard from BN but none less than Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew had very high regard for his capabilities. Zeti has a sterling reputation. Kuok, of course, is a great businessman. Hassan a solid professional. Jomo was a smart addition that would particularly please the Pakatan crowd as he was known to be highly critical of BN.

All good, right? Well, PKR's Rafizi wasn't too happy with the fact that Dr M seemed to have negotiated the key cabinet positions with everyone except PKR. If that's true we can only speculate as to the reason why that was so. But the fact of the matter is that PKR is already represented in the Cabinet. Wan Azizah is the Deputy Prime Minister. It's also been reported that Dr M later went to see Anwar in hospital to discuss Cabinet matters.

That being the case, why is Rafizi doing this? Does it help to publicly show that fissures already exist so soon? Everybody knows that Pakatan parties bicker all the time but now is not the time to publicly display it. If you look at the comments on social media you'll see that supporters of Pakatan in general feel that such open bickering is not right.

Even former Bersih chief Ambiga felt compelled to comment: "PKR please stop your nonsense." She went on to say, "I fully support the appointments by the prime minister. Please put country above all else. The rakyat did!"

It could very well be true that PKR had not yet agreed to finalize who the top three Cabinet ministers would be but it's hard to imagine they were not consulted at all. And if it was true that Dr M had jumped the gun and named those three before Anwar had actually signed off on it, Anwar should be the one who confronts Dr M about this matter, and in private rather than publicly like what Rafizi did.

Now is not the best time for public bickering, especially when the appointments are good ones that the public actually supports.

At 92 going onto 93, Dr M literally does not have a lot of time. There's a ton of work to be done and he's off to a flying start. The public wants him to go after those who were responsible for the 1mdb scandal. The public also wants him to quickly name an effective Cabinet that is well represented by all component parties.

We want action, we want results and we want it fast. Dr M seems intent to deliver. PKR would do well to let him do his job and intervene when he fails to implement what has been promised. Not when he's doing what the public expects of him.