Our pick for the Top 5 are the Youth and Sports Ministry, Urban Well-Being, Local Government and Housing Ministry, Ministry of Finance, Home Ministry and Foreign Ministry.
At the Bottom 5 are Tourism and Culture Ministry, Communication and Multimedia Ministry, Islamic Religious Affairs Department, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism.
The Malaysian Digest is of the view since Khairy Jamaluddin or better known as KJ took over as Youth and Sports Ministry following last year's general election, he has managed to put a hugher sense of direction in both youth and sports programmes.
And what is obvious is KJ's penchant to kick out lethargy in these programmes and greater accountability for the millions spent over the years to develop sports.
On this score, he shook up non-performing sport bodies like the Malaysia Sepaktakraw Association where the standard of the national team's performance has deteriorated badly in regional competitions, even losing to countries which started playing the game only in recent times.
He's sending a message that the ministry's financial support for the association would be suspended if poor performance continues while he's also breathing down the neck of the Malaysian National Cycling Federation to account for its massive spending on its failed road event programme.
Here is a case of money down the drain and KJ's message is clear -- shape up or ship out.
At there are ominous signs that Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan is proving to be a breath of fresh air in the otherwise staid Ministry of Urban Well-Being, Housing and Local Government Ministry with his dynamism and pro-active approach in getting the delivery system going more efficiently.
For example, for such a long time, the country is beset with the problems of abandoned housing projects where house buyers who have paid deposits and even made progress payments end up victims as these projects were either non-starters or abandoned mid-way.
It's reported that there are more than 100 such abandoned projects throughout the country but the authorities had been so toothless to act against the developers and at least on record, none had been sent to jail for such scams.
But lately, many such projects have managed to be revived and tougher laws that include jail sentence for those responsible have been put in place.
Ministry Of FinanceMinistry Of FinanceThe Ministry of Finance's National Blue Ocean Strategy 6 is working well and one worthy of mention is the Urban Transformation Centre or UTC, a government initiative that provides the urban community with key government and private sector services all under one roof.
Several such centres have been set up since the first one was launched in Melaka in 2012 and they have proved to be a hit among the public. Going forward, UTC will be a benchmark not only in terms of facilities provided but also in excellent services.
Key agencies under the Home Ministry are on their toes always to up the ante in keeping the peace and public order that's vital for the "feel good" factor.
It's also key to maintaining Malaysia's position as one of the world's top tourist destinations.
The Foreign Ministry,too,deserves credit for keeping Malaysia's high profile on the international front that culminated with the recent visit of U.S. President Barack Obama.
On the flip side, Malaysia is now into its sixth month of 2014 being declared the Visit Malaysia Year but in terms of promotion especially internationally, nothing much seems to be happening.
Granted the VMY campaign was derailed by the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 but it is our view that the Tourism and Culture Ministry should take it as a challenge and to rise above it.
Tourism was also dampened by incidents of kidnappings of foreigners by gunmen in secluded resorts off Sabah but it's incumbent for the ministry to issue travel advisories as there are many other safer places for tourists to visit.
Failure to do so would result in Malaysia being branded a place with security risks.
Datuk Seri Jamil Khir BaharomDatuk Seri Jamil Khir BaharomMinister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Islamic affairs Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom could have better handled issues relating to hudud, the Islamic penal code law, and the use of the word Allah by the non-Muslims.
The issues have caused unnecessary anxiety and therefore controversy.
For the Communication and Multimedia Ministry, our view is that with so much aparatus and budget at its disposal, it is high time that the standard of the products dished out out by its key agency, RTM, be improved tremendously.
Its TV and radio news production is still mired in the old-fashioned style of presentation and so well behind the standard we get from the foreign news channels.
There's still a lot of catching up to do for the Ministry of Education in terms of putting in place and education system that would enable Malaysia to produce the manpower that's of world standard.
Yes, it has come out with a new Blueprint to achieve a world-class system but as usual the devil is in the implementation and stopping the rot in the deteriorating standard of English proficiency is going to be the biggest challenge because where are the English teachers going to come from for the 10,000 schools spread across the nations?
This is not to mention the huge challenge of providing higher education of international standard when our schools, according to one international rating body, are lower in standard than even Vietnam.
The Ministry of Domestic Trade,Cooperatives and Consumerism, too, needs to buck up, especially with massive smuggling of subsidised diesel and other goods and the recent discovery of non-halal chocolate products.
What have been unearthed so far could only be then tip of the iceberg.
The government needs a fresh approach in performing and dealing with issues. Young, energetic leaders have shown that fresh faces bring fresh ideas. Maybe it is time for a minor cabinet reshuffle and have more young leaders in the line up. People like Muar MP Datuk Razali Ibrahim, Hulu Selangor MP P. Kamalanathan, Kuala Selangor MP Irmohizam Ibrahim, Sekijang MP Anuar Manap, and Masjid Tanah MP Mas Emeryati are some names that come to mind. There can also be a senatorship for both the Pemuda and Puteri deputy leaders. They can be the shot in the arm that the cabinet needs right now.
Malaysian Digest