NAJIB TO FOCUS ON CABINET LINE-UP

Previous cabinet, serving under Abdullah Badawi for the year 2008.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is expected to have a better idea of how to form the new Cabinet when he gets a chance to meet leaders of Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties at a meeting in Putrajaya today.
While the exact reason for the meeting is not known, it is strongly believed that it is likely to centre on the much-talked about Cabinet reshuffle. Najib is expected to announce his Cabinet line-up within a week of taking officelast Friday.
Some analysts say that the Cabinet announcement could be as early as Wednesday or Thursday after the three by-elections in Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau and Batang Ai are held on Tuesday.
There are 32 members in the Cabinet with 27 ministries and almost two-thirds of the Cabinet are made up of appointees from Umno, the largest component in the 13-member ruling BN. The others are four from MCA and one each from MIC, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) and UPKO.
Umno ministers are selected according to the party hierarchy. Representation from the states are also taken into consideration.
At the recent Umno elections, six of the 21 Umno ministers lost in their bid to win various positions in the party. They include Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, Tourism Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, Higher Education Minister Datuk Khaled Nordin and Rural and Regional Development Minister Tan Sri Muhammad Muhamad Taib.
As such, the new prime minister will have a chance to undertake a reshuffle and pick a new team to reflect what he wants to do for the country, say analysts.
So far only Shahrir has tendered his resignation to take effect from April 8.

Courtesy: New Strait Times and Bernama