(Updated 6:22pm, 31 March 2009)
KUALA LUMPUR, 31 March 2009: Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad will hand over his letter of resignation as a cabinet minister to the prime minister tomorrow.
He said he had written the letter yesterday and would hand it over to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi during the cabinet meeting.
“I have no regrets. In fact, I’m satisfied with what transpired at the ministry while I was its minister for one year.
“As a Minister I have been happy. What is important is that I succeeded in transforming the ministry which was previously seen as being merely an enforcement agency into a ministry based on the economy besides its consumer-friendly approach,” he told reporters at the Dewan Negara lobby, here today.
Shahrir said his resignation as a minister was nothing new as it had been practised during the eras of Tun Razak Hussein, Tun Hussein Onn until now.
“This (resignation) is normal in the party, especially to me as I believe the precondition to be in the cabinet is to get the support of the party members.
“When a cabinet minister fails in the (party) election, either he or she (the minister) would be dropped or resign, that’s normal,” he said.
On 26 March, Shahrir, who failed to defend his seat in the Umno supreme council (MT), decided to relinquish his cabinet post.
He was reported to have said that he would step down as a cabinet minister on the day of the power transition from the prime minister to his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Consumer Association of Malaysia (PPIM) has urged Shahrir to reconsider his decision.
PPIM project director Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin said it was unwise of Shahrir to step down as he had yet to implement many initiatives for consumer benefits.
“To us he has shown a good performance. He has a lot of ideas and had solved many consumer issues. His resignation will be a loss to the consumer movement,” said Noor Nirwandy.— Bernama
