| Straits Times July 7, 2007
HANOI - LEADERS of Vietnam's ruling communist party are meeting to approve a radical Cabinet shake-up and consolidate the agenda of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Mr Dung will also use the current two-week party plenum to tighten controls on the media and reform the bureaucracy. His bold changes are designed to cement the party's hold on power and confirm his position as the man in charge of modern-day Vietnam. Diplomatic sources refer to his imminent shake-up as a power play by Mr Dung, who has been a dynamo of activity after completing a year in office last month. His grand plans include elevating the Western-trained Education Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan to be a Deputy Prime Minister and the new Foreign Minister. As The Straits Times reported last week, Mr Nhan's promotion to a DPM post is a surprising development since he has been a full minister for only one year. But his concurrent move to take over the Foreign Ministry has stunned observers even more, although most diplomats have applauded the expected transfer. Said one Western diplomat: 'Mr Nhan is articulate, Harvard-educated, speaks English and German, and he's comfortable with diplomats and foreign leaders. He is replacing a diffident, Czech-educated steel expert. That says it all.' The wide-ranging reshuffle will induct more youthful and outgoing leaders who will boost Vietnam's international profile and help integrate it more with the global economy. The number of deputy PMs is expected to increase from three to five, while the number of Cabinet posts will be reduced from 29 to 22. Taking over Mr Nhan's education portfolio will be Mr Pham Thanh Binh, another English-language speaker who is currently the director of Ho Chi Minh City National University. Another of Mr Nhan's fellow young technocrats, Industry Minister Hoang Trung Hai, who attended university in Ireland, will also be promoted to DPM. Taking over at the enlarged Trade and Industry Ministry will be a new face in the Cabinet, Mr Vu Huy Hoang, currently party boss in Lang Son province, bordering China. Most of the new ministers admire Singapore and want to develop comparable standards of administrative efficiency in Vietnam. Although the reshuffle is one of the most radical in Vietnam's history, it is expected to be enthusiastically approved by the plenum's 160 party leaders drawn from across the nation. Mr Dung will benefit from recent changes in party rules that make him the first premier able to name his own Cabinet, although he will need to be careful not to upset too many members of the party's old guard. Said Mr Nguyen Tran Bat, chairman of Investconsult, a business advisory group: 'I'm very pleased that the Prime Minister is going to reshuffle his Cabinet to promote more dynamic young ministers. But he will need to be very skilful in making these big changes.' Following Mr Dung's wishes, the plenum is also expected to approve measures to further circumscribe Vietnam's already restricted domestic media. The Prime Minister first revealed these new limits on May 28, when he ruled that unauthorised civil servants cannot 'speak to the public or provide information to the press'. Most editors have said they can live with the new controls. Said Mr Nguyen Dai Phuong, world news editor of Tien Phong newspaper: 'Vietnam is still an undeveloped nation and it will take time for us to mature. So the demand for a free press at this time is unreasonable.' But others argue that Mr Dung's government already shackles the media too much. Said Mr Bat: 'They go too far and their censorship is not consistent with the advancement of the country and it has constrained creativity that would help Vietnam develop faster.' rogermitton@hotmail.com
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