"If there is anyone who should be sacked, just sack him for the good of the rakyat and the nation. If we need to sack a minister, just sack him and replace him with someone new!"

That is not political rhetoric from Lim Kit Siang or Karpal Singh delivered at a DAP political gathering or an extract from a reformasi slogan used during street demonstrations, but an official call from the Barisan Nasional (BN) MP for Kinabatangan in the Dewan Rakyat recently. It was aimed at Works Minister Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu.

The call for him to resign or be sacked did not stem from the anger of an individual MP, but reflects widespread sentiment, which boiled over in the hearts of several BN MPs, including Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob (BN-Bera), Jimmy Donald (BN-Sri Aman), Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman (BN-Labuan), Loh Seng Kok (BN-Kelana Jaya) and Dr Wee Ka Siang (BN-Ayer Hitam).

The harsh criticism was due to several problematic projects, which were administered by the works ministry including the cracks found in 31 of the 33 MRR2 highway columns in Kepong, the uneven road surface along stretches of the East Coast Expressway (ECE), the fungus infested new hospital in Johor and the landslide at the 302nd kilometre of the North-South Highway near Gua Tempurung.

The pro-government mainstream media appeared not to 'give face' to the BN government and one of its ministers this time, and reported in detail how Samy Vellu was criticised and how the suggestion to sack him was supported by the various parties involved.

For example, the Backbenchers' Club (BBC) chairman, Datuk Shahrir Samad, also voiced his support for the call from MPs for Samy Vellu to step down. He said that the suggestion that any minister who has failed to carry out his duties to be changed is a constructive one.

Precarious position

The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations [FOMCA} adviser, Dr Mohd Hamdan Adnan, Malaysian Trades Unions Congress [MTUC] president, Senator Zainal Rampak and Suara Rakyat Malaysia [Suaram] executive director, Cynthia Gabriel all joined in supporting the latest suggestion.

And Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, as deputy prime minister, was also reported to have wanted Samy Vellu to clarify matters in the Dewan Rakyat, as though he was dissatisfied with Samy Vellu's standard.

What was more important and had more serious implications for the senior minister was the team of six Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) officers headed by the Pahang ACA director, Rahim Mustakain, which has reportedly begun investigations into the construction of several stretches of the ECE, which have been found to be below specifications and standards.

Those who are familiar with the political chess game of the Barisan Nasional, will agree that Samy Vellu's position is more precarious than that of the former MCA president, Dr Ling Liong Sik prior to his (Ling's) stepping down. At that time, Dr Ling was only reported to be involved in a financial scandal involving his family.

As such, there are now some who cynically joke that if Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is serious about sacking corrupt ministers, then his cabinet will probably end up empty!

However, it also cannot be denied that in the current political climate, a corrupt minister, who is a 'problem' to the government, is much more likely to be changed.

The era of Abdullah has begun, but the process of revamping his cabinet is ongoing. Even though Abdullah's cabinet is already bloated and way too big for a country of our small size, many still race to be appointed into the cabinet, too many to be fitted into the number of positions available.

As such, the Mahathir era ministers must abide by the maxim 'shape up or ship out'!

Lost legitimacy

As such, senior ministers from the Mahathir era - in particular those who are now a burden on the BN government - must go, as they have already lost their legitimacy to continue to hold their ministerial positions.

Whether they are ordinary citizens or not, in the end, they must step down. Mahathir was certainly not an ordinary citizen, but he still had to step down when he realised that he had become, or was being viewed as, a burden to Umno and the BN government.

BN MPs and the mainstream media can surely read the current political realities of BN. As such, why did they need to give face to Samy Vellu, who has become a burden to BN but still swaggers and acts as haughtily as he had during Mahathir's era?

At this time, Samy Vellu seems to be reluctant to resign. He repeated Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's statement that it was not proper for Mps, especially those from BN, to call for any minister to step down.

Who doesn't know that such a call was 'not proper' and 'not nice'? In spite of that, according to Shahrir, who was speaking as the BBC chairman, several BN MPs acted in the manner they did because there was no other way to force the works minister answer for several important issues of public importance.

I am afraid that this time, Samy Vellu can no longer escape from the dilemma of stepping down or be sacked. If he now asks his old boss, Dr Mahathir, the answer is already available: Go while the going is good !