I refer to Malaysiakini’s report PM told to overhaul his cabinet .

Zaid Ibrahim, an outstanding star in Umno who never minces his words, must have hit a raw nerve among the incumbent cabinet ministers when he asked the prime minister to remove long-standing ministers from their cabinet posts.

Articulate and a lawyer himself, Zaid would have made a good de facto law minister rather than the incumbent who seems oblivious to the sad state of the judiciary. But that is another story. It is clear to see that vocal Umno members would not be candidates in the next polls as only sycophants and apple polishers need apply. We also have an information minister whose poor English during the Al Jazeera interview does not reflect well on our image. People might think that our present ministers are of low quality and cannot intelligently articulate the government’s point of view. His remarks would not go down well with those who have been holding the forts for more than a decade.

These old guards still want to stand for elections at the next polls without giving way to new blood. At present, most cabinet ministers can trace their roots with the former premier. To think that after 50 years of independence, we still have ministers who were born during the Japanese occupation - it doesn’t speak well about the renewal process of our leadership. Currently, there are two cabinet members born after independence, while the rest are from the old era with outdated thinking.

To win the hearts and minds of voters in the coming polls, Pak Lah needs to act tough by replacing these old hands with new blood. With all the surrounding scandals, these old ministers are a burden to the present regime. As Abraham Lincoln rightly said: “In order to save the body sometimes one needs to cut the limbs”. Desperate times call for desperate measures. As time is not on Pak Lah’s side, it would be wise for him to use a big stick to remove the deadwoods from his cabinet in order to give some integrity to his leadership which is currently on a low ebb due to numerous scandals among his party members.

The long-standing ministers should volunteer to step down, failing which the prime minister should ask them to leave. This will prevent them from becoming the opposition’s punching bags at the next polls due to their corrupt practices and abuse of power. In Australia, former premier John Howard had to leave office because he had overstayed his welcome. In 1999 several Umno minsters who failed to win their seats lost their cabinet posts.

Although it is unthinkable that the present regime will not form the next government, voters need to send a strong message to the present regime that their old ways are not good for the country. If Pak Lah insists on retaining the old and tired faces in the cabinet, voters should vote out the corrupt incumbents from office as they are only there for their own selfish interests at the expense of the ordinary people. We should deny the present regime a two-thirds majority in the coming polls. This will humble them in their leadership approach.

It would be a perfect storm to replace the corrupt incumbents in the coming polls. All indications are against the present regime. But the questions is, will voters be ready for a change of regime or will these simple-minded rural voters vote for the incumbents as they do not want to rock the boat? That question can only be answered in the coming polls.