Stakes also high for me - Dzulkefly on calls to helm MOH again
Despite being in an opposition political party, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad is a favourite to retain his former cabinet post as health minister. However, Dzulkefly said the “stakes are high” when taking into account the current political scenario of the country.
“The stakes are high for me,” he told Malaysiakini in a WhatsApp message today as his party, Amanah, was part of the recently ousted Pakatan Harapan coalition.
Various quarters, including political rivals, have suggested that Dzulkefly Ahmad be reappointed as the health minister in order to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia.
However, the Amanah central committee member is approaching this with caution.
“I would want to wait for an official letter first before making any response. (I) have to see the terms and conditions first, (whether) is it truly a 'national service'.
“The stakes are also high for me,” he told Malaysiakini in a WhatsApp message this morning.
However, the former minister stressed that so far the calls are merely hearsay and he has not heard anything official.
Although he did not elaborate, it is believed that Dzulkefly was referring to the complexities involved in being part of an administration which Pakatan Harapan has denounced as a backdoor government.
Furthermore, Harapan leaders had also accused Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and those responsible for the collapse of the coalition's government last week as traitors.
Muhyiddin, who now heads the Perikatan Nasional coalition, has yet to decide on his cabinet members.
Malaysia is facing its second wave of the spread of Covid-19 as the total confirmed cases in the country have jumped to 55, mainly due to a local transmission cluster involving Case 26.
Former Umno senator Khairul Azman Harun had said that Dzulkefly could have outperformed his predecessors at the Health Ministry if he had a longer stint in the position.
He then expressed his wish that the Amanah leader was non-partisan and that Muhyiddin would re-appoint him to the post.
Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa also shared a similar view.
Previously, Miri MP Dr Michael Teo Yu Keng also urged Muhyiddin to reappoint Dzulkefly as health minister.
The PKR MP said that Dzulkefly, who holds a PhD in toxicology, was instrumental in providing much-needed leadership to Malaysia in its early response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
