Azalina Hannah Should Lead Home Ministry

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The new political alignments after the 15th general election have opened up plenty of possibilities for interesting pairings when it comes to ministerial portfolios. 
One such possibility, which I believe warrants serious consideration, is for Pengerang MP-elect Azalina Othman Said to become home minister, with Segambut MP-elect Hannah Yeoh as her deputy.
Many would probably see Azalina as a more suitable candidate for Dewan Rakyat speaker due to her being arguably the most competent person to preside over the Lower House in the past 10 years - being both firm and relatively fair, albeit hamstrung by the need to refer back to her then-superior, Azhar Harun.
Yeoh - who had been Selangor speaker from 2013 to 2018 - would have also been a good fit for the Dewan Rakyat speaker or deputy speaker role.
However, Azalina and Yeoh working together could achieve more in the Home Ministry - for its agencies are in need of reform.
For one thing, with the Umno-DAP duo at the helm, the pledge to amend the Federal Constitution to give equal rights to both men and women to pass down citizenship - an issue they both champion - would be a priority instead of something to achieve further down the line.
This could also see reforms to help others such as stateless children with one Malaysian parent or having been adopted by Malaysians get their citizenship.
Azalina pushed for a special court for sexual crimes against children, which then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak launched in June 2017Azalina and Yeoh are also advocates against sexual crimes. Under their leadership, there could be reforms in how enforcement agencies, such as the police, handle such cases - which could in turn encourage more victims to come forward to get justice.
Appointing the duo to the Home Ministry would also keep it out of the hands of politicians who believe that it's more important to be macho by being "tough on crime" and have their key performance indicator (KPI) being a high number of arrests made - even if this comes at the expense of marginalised groups, or the authorities being heavy-handed and mistreating their targets.
This could, hopefully, instead force enforcement agencies to focus on getting to the root of the problem instead of chasing after symptoms. 
A time when the government needs the police
Politically, having Azalina as minister could help placate Umno while keeping enforcement agencies from going into too much shock over a drastic change in leadership. 
Yes, Azalina has had her questionable moments, such as when she asked why Ismail Sabri Yaakob did not appoint his own candidate for attorney-general when he was prime minister. 
I also do not hold out hope that Azalina would implement a full-fanged Independent Police Misconduct and Complaints Commission (IPCMC) to replace the toothless tiger Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) introduced by the PN government.
However, I doubt anyone could under the current political circumstances as it is a politically volatile amendment - at a time when the government needs the police on their side to keep the peace, and not revolt.
And given the possible other options for the home minister portfolio, Azalina and Yeoh are perhaps the best that we can hope for if we are serious about getting reforms done - and don't want to settle for the least, worst option. - Mkini
ZIKRI KAMARULZAMAN is a member of the Malaysiakini Team.

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