KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (July 8): The nomination of Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Deputy Prime Minister should be interpreted as UMNO reclaiming the leadership role it lost in the 14th General Election in May 2018. However, UMNO’s president, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, declared the party’s withdrawal of support for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, something the UMNO leader had already discussed.
Ahmad Zahid, however, did not address the issue of UMNO Members of Parliament (MPs) holding posts in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government led by Muhyiddin at a press conference held after chairing the UMNO Supreme Council meeting last night.
As a result, there was confusion among UMNO members who saw Ismail Sabri’s appointment as a positive development for the party because it could aid efforts to revive the country’s economy, which has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, ahead of the country’s 15th general election (GE15) later this year.
Apart from withdrawing support for Muhyiddin, Ahmad Zahid also asked the Prime Minister to resign honorably so that an interim Prime Minister could be selected, who could then focus on eradicating Covid-19 before returning the mandate to the people after herd immunity had been achieved.
Ismail Sabri’s nomination as Deputy Prime Minister, according to political analyst Dr Che Hamdan Che Mohd Razali, should be seen as a recognition for UMNO and should be embraced by all levels of the party.
“However, asking the Prime Minister to resign could be an UMNO strategy because an UMNO representative is the Deputy Prime Minister and has a chance to become Prime Minister,” said Che Hamdan of the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Raub Campus in Pahang’s Science Administration and Policy Studies Faculty.
He believes that changing the Prime Minister now, even for a short time, would be extremely dangerous for the country, which is currently dealing with Covid-19.
“It’s difficult to foresee what would happen with a change of Prime Minister in terms of pandemic resolution, economic (issues), and political strife,” he noted, “since what is happening now is beyond human control, such as the Covid-19 instances.”
Associate Prof Dr Mohd Izani Mohd Zain of the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Human Ecology Faculty said he couldn’t foresee what UMNO would do next, despite the fact that its current actions were entirely geared at pressing the Prime Minister to resign.
“Who would UMNO’s partners be if it wants to create a new government?” UMNO has stated that it will not work with PKR or DAP.
“I don’t see how this action can have an impact on the government unless UMNO ministers resign from their positions (in government) and a new coalition is definitely formed to replace PN,” he said.
Although the Prime Minister should be granted full authority to run the country, Mohd Izani believes that the country’s prosperity is also contingent on the cooperation of all lawmakers and the efficiency of government officials.
He stated that changing the Prime Minister does not guarantee that the country would improve, and that the new leader may be dismissed if success does not arrive as predicted.
The two analysts also stated that, because Covid-19 is still raging, it is not the appropriate time to hold GE15, despite the fact that it is widely viewed as the sole means to resolve the country’s political problem.
Muyhiddin also named Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, another UMNO leader, as Senior Minister (Security Cluster)./n
