As a first step to demonstrating that he means business and that his ministers will have to perform, the premier should reveal the achievements of Mohd Effendi Norwawi in his 17-month stint as higher education envoy.

This is the challenge from Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who announced the appointment of Effendi as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in his first cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday since the 2004 general election.

Effendi, said Lim in a statement today, is a test case of whether Abdullah meant what he said when he told reporters yesterday that he "will monitor" his cabinet members through a monitoring committee.

Effendi had previously been agricultural minister and minister of special functions in the Prime Minister's Department. Since August 2004 until his promotion to full minister on Tuesday, he had been higher education envoy.

"It will be a good start for a performance-oriented cabinet after the reshuffle for a full public report to be made on what Effendi had achieved in his 17 months... in promoting Malaysia as an international hub of educational and academic excellence," said Lim.

Lim was commenting on Abdullah's rejoinder to critics who had downplayed the reshuffle as "musical chairs" that had not seen the removal of "dead wood."

Criticism does not matter

The premier made seven changes to his cabinet line-up, dropping three ministers and handing different portfolios to three others. He also replaced his information minister who had resigned citing personal reasons.

Abdullah retained the services of veteran trade minister Rafidah Aziz despite her involvement in a controversy last year over car imports, saying he needed her services.

His new cabinet comprises performers who will ensure the success of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, he had said.

"(Their criticism) does not matter," he said according to a New Straits Times report.

"All of them can perform. What is important is that we plan and decide how we will carry it out," he added.

Abdullah warned, however, that the ministers' performance would be monitored by a committee which would submit reports to him.

"If true, it will be the first time that there will be such a ministers' monitoring committee," said Lim.

Reform and integrity pledges

This raises questions, he added, as to whether the ministers will be required to submit reports in the form of key performance indicators (KPI), whether there will be regular ministerial KPI reports to Parliament, and the identity of the ministers conducting the monitoring exercise.

In addition to the Ninth Malaysia Plan, shouldn't Abdullah also demonstrate seriousness in delivering his reform and integrity pledges made during the 2004 elections and judge his ministers on such benchmarks, Lim asked.

"If the prime mnister is still serious about the reform and integrity pledges he should designate one of his ministers with the specific responsibility on reform and integrity to deliver his electoral mandate ane reform pledges," said Lim.

Such a minister would also oversee reform and integrity programmes and progress in every ministry, he added.

"Normally, such oversight should be exercised by the prime minister personally, but Abdullah seems to have his hands full in having to cope with three ministries - the Prime Minister's Department, the Finance Ministry and the Internal Security Ministry - to the extent that he is unable to do full justice to any of them."