Mahathir, who governed the country for 22 years, said the current cabinet has more than 30 ministers who are assisted by more than 30 deputy ministers.

The Prime Minister’s Department alone has more than 10 full ministers, he said during his regular Policy Talk session streamed live on Facebook today.

“The cabinet seems to be expanding not because there is any need for these ministers, but it looks more like to provide jobs for ministers.

“Some ministries have two ministers and this is quite a waste. There are government officers who have expertise to prepare papers for the cabinet and these officers should be utilised to assist the ministers.”

Mahathir, who is the Pakatan Harapan (PH) prime ministerial candidate, said if PH came to power after the next general election, it would reduce the number of ministers to about 20.

He said the country had been governed by a smaller cabinet in the past.

“Back then, there were not even 10 cabinet members, but of course the country then was not filled with so many problems.

“We added ministers (later), but not to the extent of rising to 30 or more.”

Mahathir also said ministers are not confined to decision-making roles.

He said they should be required to go down to the ground and familiarise themselves with projects undertaken by their respective ministries.

“The close relations between government officers and the cabinet members must also be acknowledged.

“The government officers have their respective responsibilities, and these cannot be taken over by the ministers. They can advise each other, but not to have their (government officers) authority taken over by ministers.

“Only then can an administration function properly. This can be done in any cabinet, not just Malaysia,” he said.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/07/28/ideas-cabinet-reshuffle-sign-of-desperation/