TAIPING, 6 April 2009: MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Kiat said he has submitted a list of names to Prime Minister Seri Najib Abdul Razak to be considered for cabinet appointment.
“I met the prime minister this morning. We had an hour-long talk, very meaningful but unfortunately, I can’t reveal it to you.
“I did submit a list containing names, in accordance with party hierarchy and their status as member of parliament,” he told reporters after taking part in a house-to-house campaign at Simpang New Village here today.
He declined to reveal the number of names on the list.
Asked on talks that the current four ministerial posts allocated to MCA would be reduced in the new cabinet line-up, Ong said: “I don’t have prior knowledge on the size of the cabinet or how many portfolios we are going to get”.
“At this juncture, there is no point for us to speculate,” he said.
Apart from Ong who is Transport Minister, other MCA leaders holding cabinet posts are its vice-presidents Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (Health) and Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen (Women, Family and Community Development), and former secretary-general Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan (Housing and Local Government).
Najib is expected to announce his cabinet line-up soon.
There are currently 32 members in the Cabinet in 27 ministries, with almost two-third are made up of appointees from Umno, the largest component in the 13-member ruling Barisan Nasional (BN). — Bernama
