KUCHING – The Yang di-Pertuan Agong has chosen who will be the ninth prime minister and it is now time to let the ill will among political groups and opposing coalitions come to an end, said politicians in Sarawak.
“What is urgent now is to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and revive the economy to a robust state,” Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) president Bobby William told The Vibes, immediately after Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was announced as the ninth prime minister of Malaysia today.
“PBDS hopes that (issues relating to) the pandemic and the lagging economy will be resolved effectively by the new prime minister and his selected cabinet.
“The people are getting fed up with the seemingly endless power struggle and political shenanigans of politicians. We, as a party, honour the king’s appointment of Ismail Sabri.”
He said the new prime minister must get his act together quickly and help rebuild the economy.
“This, and dealing with the critical pandemic situation must be his first and most urgent tasks. Ismail Sabri must be fair to all races and must practically show that he has the heart and soul of the people as his main interest. He must show leadership qualities based on moral principles and reach out to work with other parties, coalitions and the opposition.
“To tackle the Covid-19 pandemic effectively, I hope he establishes a formidable science committee involving well-trained medical experts, instead of untrained and non-science-literate politicians.”
Parti Aspirasi president Lina Soo agreed that efforts to combat the pandemic must now be a priority.
What’s pressing now is the Covid-19 situation which today has reached an all-time high of 23,564 cases. Our people have lost jobs, lost income, closed down businesses and many can’t afford three square meals per day and some have committed suicide and others will even contemplate taking their lives.
“We must move on from this dire straits and we need a prime minister who can help take us across the other side. We must beat the pandemic first and bring back some semblance of normality back into our lives,” she said.
“After all democracy lives on, and we always have the chance to vote again in another general election once the worst is over. Politics can take a pause for now. We call upon Malaysians to rally behind the new administration to get back our lives again as soon as we can,” she added.
“Our nation is in good hands. The king has made the right choice by appointing Ismail Sabri as the new prime minister,” said Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Baram division chief Dennis Ngau.
Ismail Sabri with his long and vast experience in the running of our government we are confident that our nation is placed in a pair of safe hands.
“With experienced cabinet members, he will definitely spur our nation to greater heights,” said the Telang Usan assemblyman.
He said the people of Telang Usan will continually seek to be placed under the “radar of the federal government” as we need a lot of federal support to build infrastructure and public amenities.
“My immediate request is for the federal government to provide the Cansino Covid-19 vaccine to Sarawak so that we could immediately go to rural areas and provide the vaccine to our underprivileged community, namely the Penans.
“This single-dose vaccine will be the best protection against the virus for the Penans and is easy to administer as no second dose is needed.
“Secondly, I appeal to the federal government, especially the Health Ministry, to speed up the building of the Long San clinic in Upper Baram which is long overdue,” he added.
Political observer Peter Minos shared similar sentiments on the need to revive the economy and addressing the pandemic.
“Malaysians are also very tired of the inter-party, inter-coalition politicking and it must be Ismail Sabri’s priority to bring some semblance of order and reconciliation, at least until the next general election,” he added. – The Vibes, August 20, 2021
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