A Kadir Jasin
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WHEN I came across a Star newspaper report of May 16 headlined “A well-balanced Cabinet of 32 ministers” my brain went into rewind mode, taking me back to my Malay school days in the 1950’s when “congak” and “ujian akal” were both loved and loathed by the pupils.
“Congak” was mental arithmetic and a regular
subject. We would be given, in quick succession, questions concerning addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division. We would have to answer them without
the aid of any instrument – not even pencil. We had to do the calculation in
our mind and answer verbally.
The “ujian akal” was a general knowledge test.
We were asked on subjects that were not often taught in the classroom. Only if
we did extra reading and observed everyday events would we be able to answer
them.
Using the basic principle of “congak” and
knowledge of general affairs, for which I did not fair badly, and applying them
to The Star “well-balanced Cabinet” labelling, I came up with the following
mathematics:
1. The Indians, who account for 7.1% of the population
according to the 2010 Census, are represented by two Ministers. In addition
they have four Deputy Ministers.
2. The Chinese, who account for 22.9% of the population,
are, by choice and by their dismal contribution to the BN election victory in
the May 5 polls, are not represented. There is, however a nominated Chinese in
the transformational Cabinet.
3. There are 32 Cabinet Ministers and 24 Ministries,
including the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD). In the PMD, there are eight
Ministers. Deputy Ministers are not Cabinet members.
4. Sarawak with the population of 2,506,500, where the
state BN won 25 out of 31 seats, was awarded six Cabinet posts. It works out to
one Minister for every 417,750 Sarawakians. Counting Deputy Ministers, the Bumi
Kenyalang (Land of the Hornbills) has 10 federal posts.
5. Sabah with the population of 3,214,200, where the BN
won 22 out of 25 seats, was also given six Cabinet jobs working out to one
Minister for every 535,700. Counting Deputy Ministers, the “Negeri Di Bawah
Bayu” (Land Below the Wind) has 10 federal posts.
6. On the contrary, Johor, which has the population of
3,305, 900 and contributing 21 parliamentary seats (out of 25) has only three
full Ministers working out to one Minister for every 1,101,966 proud Johorians.
7. But the Johorians can spare their handkerchiefs. They
are not the ultimate victims of Mohd Najib’s “congak”. The real “anak tiri” are
the Selangorians of whom I am one. There are 5,037,600 of us and five BN MPs
but not a single Minister. Talk about “congak” and about regaining Selangor in
future elections! (I am not counting Paul Low Seng Kuan because I am not sure who he
represents.) This is perhaps the Prime Minister’s way of teaching the
Selangorians a lesson.
8. But the Selangorians need not shed tears. The two
million Kedahans are no better. After returning the state to the BN and
contributing 10 Dewan Rakyat seats (out of 15), they get only one Minister
post.
9. Perakians are luckier. They gave 12 out of 24
parliamentary seats to the BN and got three Ministers in return. The people of
Perlis, Kelantan, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan can count themselves lucky. They
have more Menteris despite having fewer MPs.
10. Perlis (3 seats 1 Minister), Kedah (10/1), Kelantan
(5/1), Terengganu (4/2), Pahang (10/2), Penang (3/0), Perak (12/3), Selangor
(5/0), Wilayah Persekutuan (4/1), Negeri Sembilan (5/2), Malacca (4/0), Johor
(21/3), Sabah (22/6) and Sarawak (25/6). [Note: Bro. Jalaluddin Bahaudin and Sis. Hardev Kaur, please correct me if I am wrong.]
11. Women who make up 49% of Malaysia’s population and a
rising force in the economy are represented by only two Ministers and both of
them are from Sarawak.
12. And Wanita Umno members, the backbone of Umno’s campaign
machinery and the most loyal to the party, are the ultimate losers. They were
left out in the cold for the first time in decades. They have no representative
in the Cabinet.
In short, the “congak” does not quite add up and the
mathematical logic is lost in what appears to be a haphazard arrangement that
disregards the key elements of our demography and in the distribution of seats
won by the BN. And the Cabinet could only become larger and unruly despite the
BN winning proportionally fewer seats in the House of Representatives since the
1969 General Elections.
Then again, who are we to complain? Our peasant way
of looking at things counts for nothing against the brilliance and cleverness
of the people who make up the Prime Minister’s council of advisers - the
political secretaries, the special advisers, the special officers and the Blue
Ocean consultants. Wallahualam.
