COMMENT | The trouble is that all politicians think they are good minister-material. We must be aware that some had lobbied furiously to be members of the cabinet after GE14. When bypassed by their junior colleagues, they were left sorely licking their bruised egos.

I was reading an obituary of the late Australian PM Bob Hawke. In one passage, the author wrote: “The government Hawke led is widely regarded as one of Labour’s most successful and one of Australia’s most transformative, with the prime minister assisted by a rare depth of talent in his cabinet.”

It makes me wonder whether Mahathir currently has a “rare depth of talent in his cabinet”. Only the prime minister himself knows.

However, judging from the barrage of criticism against some of his ministers, Mahathir has good reasons to be disappointed.

Education Minister Maszlee Malik is one great disappointment, not only in my book but in that of many others as well.

Right from the start, the government had been cautioned about the unsuitability of Maszlee for the important education portfolio. But some of his Harapan colleagues came to his defence and Mahathir stood his ground.