Asia
Asia
Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. (File photo: Bernama)
PUTRAJAYA: Every day, everywhere, the big question of when Malaysia’s 15th general election (GE15) will be called continues to be the main topic of discussion in all segments of society in the country.
Whether it will be held this year or the next, Malaysian prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said it requires more detailed and careful consideration before any decision to dissolve Parliament can be made.
In an interview marking his first anniversary helming the government since Aug 21 last year, he said the government’s priority now was to solve numerous issues troubling the people and the country, with the latest related to a littoral combat ship scandal as well as the global economic slowdown projected next year.
Mr Ismail Sabri, 62, said GE15 can be called if the two factors – current issues and economic uncertainty – are first tackled and stabilised.
“We are concerned with the projected economic uncertainty next year, but the longer we wait, the more difficult the situation will be, so maybe we can have it (GE15) this year.
“But if we say this year, there are just too many ongoing issues that need to be solved. That’s why it is quite a tough decision to make,” he added.
Mr Ismail Sabri took over the prime minister’s office following the resignation of Mr Muhyiddin Yassin on Aug 16, 2021 after the latter failed to command the majority support of MPs.
Bombarded with questions around politics and GE15 during a 45-minute interview with local media, Mr Ismail Sabri concurred that the mandate must be returned to the people to elect a new government.
“Yes, the people have to be given the chance to elect a new government as it has changed three times (in this parliamentary term). Some of them acknowledged it, some don’t, so it’s better to return the mandate to the people. Yet, we have so many issues that need to be resolved … in terms of economy, income, and employment.
“Even though, since January until now, we have provided 400,000 jobs to the people, the minimum wage of RM1,500 is still being disputed and may need to be increased because certain quarters said it’s inadequate. This is among the many issues that we need to address,” he said.
The five-year mandate of the current government will expire in July 2023, and GE15 must be held within 60 days of the dissolution of parliament.
Mr Ismail Sabri is the third prime minister appointed in this parliamentary term.
After GE14 in May 2018, Dr Mahathir Mohamad become Malaysia’s 7th prime minister for 22 months under the coalition Pakatan Harapan government, before it lost power in February 2020 and he was replaced by Mr Muhyiddin and his Perikatan Nasional government.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysia witnessed four state elections held after GE14, namely in Sabah, Melaka, Sarawak and Johor.
Mr Ismail Sabri’s political coalition, the Barisan Nasional (BN), successfully won back the states of Melaka and Johor – each with a two-thirds majority – and formed a new state government in Sabah with the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah party.
Mr Ismail Sabri, who is the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party’s MP for the Bera constituency, said BN’s success in the state election in Melaka in November last year and in Johor last March cannot be used as a guarantee of success for the coalition in GE15.
With Johor, he said BN’s landslide victory was probably made possible by low voter turnout due to COVID-19 concerns – but the situation may differ during GE15.
“Some people may think that election at the state level is not so important … But for the federal level, it’s totally different,” said Mr Ismail Sabri.
“Amid their COVID concerns, the voters will come out and vote to make sure that their parties can form a new government. That’s why I think BN’s success in Melaka and Johor cannot be used as a guarantee of success or support for us.”
On the UMNO leadership’s suggestion to have GE15 held this year, Mr Ismail Sabri said that all five leaders including himself can make any suggestion, but the power to dissolve the parliament belongs to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or king of Malaysia.
“The ‘top five’ can discuss anything … if I bring their suggestion to the Cabinet and the Cabinet agrees and even sets a date for it, and then I bring it to Agong and he doesn’t agree, it will not happen,” said the prime minister.
UMNO’s “top five” refers to president Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, deputy president Mr Mohamad Hasan and the three vice-presidents Mr Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Mr Mahdzir Khalid and Mr Ismail Sabri himself.
Unlike before, Mr Ismail Sabri said the dissolution of parliament needs to be discussed by the Cabinet as BN is not the only coalition forming the current government.
The federal government led by Mr Ismail Sabri and formed in August last year consists of three coalitions – BN, Perikatan Nasional and Gabungan Parti Sarawak.
During the interview, Mr Ismail Sabri also said that dealing with political instability, delicately balancing Malaysia’s economy and keeping people healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic were the toughest of challenges he faced as the prime minister.
His one year as prime minister has proved to be the most challenging of his political career.
He had taken over Malaysia’s leadership at a time when the pandemic was still raging – and its devastating effects are still being felt today.
At the height of pandemic movement controls imposed from March 2020 until March this year, those from the bottom 40 per cent income group faced the risk of losing their jobs and livelihoods.
“That was the most difficult and challenging period for me as I had to choose between lives and livelihood,” said Mr Ismail Sabri.
“The rest of the decisions were not too difficult for me, but the lockdown was truly a heavy one. I was fearful about job losses … (And) if the factories closed, how many would lose jobs.”
Since April, Malaysia has been transitioning to an endemic phase – an exit strategy that has allowed the full reopening of the country’s borders and economic sectors.
In rejuvenating the economy, Mr Ismail Sabri then had to deal with another challenge in the form of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which affected the government’s economic recovery plans.
“So, it proved to be quite difficult in the beginning,” he said. “But, alhamdulillah (praise be to God), if you were to look at Bank Negara’s announcement on Malaysia’s GDP (gross domestic product), we are the best in Southeast Asia and also when compared to the superpowers, economic giants such as China, Japan, the United States (and) Europe. We are far more ahead where GDP is concerned.”
Malaysia recorded an 8.9 per cent GDP growth in the second quarter of 2022. In the January-June period, the country’s economy grew by 6.9 per cent.
Taking over the leadership reins at a time when Malaysia was facing political instability, Mr Ismail Sabri said the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on transformation and political stability between the federal government and the opposition Pakatan Harapan was not a matter easily dealt with.
“It was not easy because we are answerable to our (own) party (on why the MoU was needed),” he added.
“In Malaysia, we are accustomed to thinking that the opposition is the opposition, (and) the government is the government … (And that) the ruling party can never cooperate with the opposition.”
On the performance of Cabinet ministers so far this year, the prime minister said he has yet to make an assessment but acknowledged that many issues such as the price of chicken and cooking oil, in addition to matters pertaining to economic recovery, have been successfully addressed.
“Not all of them were perfect; some were good; others underperformed. So, not really good,” said Mr Ismail Sabri. “But we are looking at things as a whole. If many of the issues have been successfully resolved, then, of course, those were collective results coming from the administration as a whole.”
He added: “We consider this success as a collective effort; not merely attributed to any one individual in the Cabinet because Cabinet decisions are collective decisions.
“Even if you have been a (minister) for a year but hardly spoke a word at Cabinet (meetings), a decision made by the Cabinet is a collective decision that includes yours as well.”
On whether there was a need to appoint a deputy prime minister, Mr Ismail Sabri said he was not hampered by the absence of a deputy for now as he has four senior ministers representing coalition parties to assist him.
This service is not intended for persons residing in the E.U. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp's partners.
Copyright© Mediacorp 2022. Mediacorp Pte Ltd. All rights reserved.
We know it’s a hassle to switch browsers but we want your experience with CNA to be fast, secure and the best it can possibly be.
To continue, upgrade to a supported browser or, for the finest experience, download the mobile app.
Upgraded but still having issues? Contact us