Sabah an Sarawak BN component parties are not satisfied with the allocation of cabinet posts, and started their “shadow boxing”. It provides an interesting question. If BN was to award the people according to the number of seats they won in the elections, then how should the BN component parties allocate the cabinet positions?

Below is my formula. I call it as “formula of awarding people according to their contribution”. BN won 140 Parliamentary seats, and there are 32 cabinet ministerial positions. Therefore, the formula should be:

140 divided by 32 equals to 4.375.

It means every 4.375 parliamentary seats they won will be eligible for a ministerial position. Is it reasonable for Sabah and Sarawak BN to gain only five ministerial positions after they won 54 seats?

No! According to the “formula of awarding people according to their contribution”, it shouldn't be only five positions. It should be 12 positions. No wonder they are upset, and the members want to enhgage in shadow boxing.

Sarawak's Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) won 14 parliamentary seats, but the party only has one ministerial position. It is the same for Sabah UMNO which won 13 seats.

MCA has successfully retained four ministerial positions even though they won only 15 seats. It seems that they have more positions, but it is actually a reasonable allocation according to the above formula. We can only say that the MCA has lesser positions when they achieved great victory in the past.

Where have the seats gone to? They are in the pocket of West Malaysia UMNO.

West Malaysia UMNO takes 21 cabinet ministerial positions even though they won only 65 parliamentary seats. It means there is a minister for every three seats.

Compared to the average of 4.375, the number is high. It does not reflect the changes of power structure after the elections.

I separated the West Malaysia UMNO and Sabah UMNO because Sabah UMNO has reacted eagerly. Among the two appointed deputy ministers, one of them did not accept the offer, while another one tendered his resignation.

The deputy who rejected the offer, Datuk Anifah Aman, is the younger brother of the Sabah Chief Minister. The centrifugal force in the Sabah UMNO is not small too.

After the dispute over the Terengganu Menteri Besar, the next challenge awaiting Abdullah is how to comfort the East Malaysia BN component parties. (By TAY TIAN YAN/ Translated by LEE MEI NYEE/ Sin Chew Daily)