Just because the drinking water in an area was found to be smelly, another cabinet committee was quickly formed (on March 8), apparently to tackle this potential problem nationwide! Only a week before that, the government hastily announced the formation of a cabinet committee to upgrade public transport, which was obviously a knee-jerk attempt to mollify public anger over the drastic increase in fuel price on Feb 28.

And so opposition leader Lim Kit Siang's question is timely indeed: are we breaking new records in forming cabinet committees? Malaysia already enjoys the dubious distinction of having one of the world's largest cabinet, and now, it looks like we going for another superlative - a government with one of the most number of cabinet committees in the world. The ease and frequency with which cabinet committees have been popping up is mind-boggling indeed. I bet few individuals, including cabinet ministers, are able to tell off-hand how many cabinet committees we have now.

Perhaps few Malaysians are aware that a unique feature of Malaysian politics has taken shape in recent years. And that is, whenever a controversy crops up in a ministry, the minister would refer the matter to the cabinet for decision. Works Minister S Samy Vellu is particularly prone to this practice. So much so that he looks more like a courier than a minister, busy ferrying reports or decisions to and fro between him and the prime minister, deputy prime minister or the cabinet.

This common habit among ministers to run to the cabinet for decision for matters other than major policies is an unmistakable reflection that our ministers are simply incompetent - lacking the capabilities of a) independent critical thinking, b) good judgement, c) self-confidence, d) authority, and e) leadership.

The propensity to frequently create cabinet committees to tackle matters that straddle across ministries is a manifestation of the general lack of congenial cooperation and coordination among the ministers. The proliferation of cabinet committees under these circumstances will only bog down the leader and his team. As it is, the prime minister, deputy prime minister and the ministers are already performing too many inconsequential functions that are purely public relations-driven or even worse, officiating minor commercial openings and launchings as free advertisement for private interests.

These ministers do not give the impression that they have devoted the necessary energy and time to serious policy planning and implementation in their own ministries. That perhaps explains the incessant eruptions of crisis and scandals in our ministries whether they relate to security, education, judiciary, health, transport, infrastructure, energy, local government, land, forests, religion, etc, in endless aspects of our national life.

The lack of individual competence and team spirit in an overcrowded and rudderless team makes for an unwieldy cabinet. And that, in a nutshell, is the crust of Malaysia's political malaise today.