KUALA LUMPUR – It is expected that newly minted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will reach out to opposition parties in a bid to have a high-performing government, said Umno’s Ketereh MP, Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
Ismail Sabri needs to put aside divisive politics for a more dynamic and open leadership ecosystem with the involvement of all parties, he told Astro Awani in a TV interview last night.
“I believe this system can give space to the opposition as they have had experience governing the country in the past.
“They have been in opposition for so long and, when they became the government, they did not perform too well. However, they are more experienced and knowledgeable now because of that. That is the strength that we need in the government.
“If we practise politics that are divisive in nature, we will be at loss. So, the space for the new prime minister to defend his strength is wide open, depending on how he decides to do it.”
The Umno lawmaker said if Ismail Sabri adopts an inclusive and broad philosophy of political leadership that focuses on performance, it will benefit the nation.
In the same interview, Annuar urged his fellow party members to give their full support to its Umno vice-president and offer all the experience that they have garnered over the years to help lead the country.
“It is important for the prime minister to have a party (Umno and Barisan Nasional) that can be the source of strength to support him.
“It is best for us to focus on giving the support to the prime minister so that it can be translated in a positive way, not in the form of dictating the works of the prime minister, but a party that can provide strength and offer its experience to the PM.
“I think this is what we need to focus on to help the party come forward with policies and strategies that are better than what was done before.”
However, Umno secretary-general and Pontian MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan posted on Twitter last night that the new government is not the previous PN administration.
“For me, this is not a Perikatan Nasional government but a mixed one comprising Barisan Nasional, PNl, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Parti Bersatu Sarawak (PBS).
“PN only has Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan, Sabah Star – and not BN, GPS and PBS.”
He is not the only one fighting the PN label.
Yesterday, Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan had said the PN brand as the federal government has ended, and that Umno under BN had never been a PN component party.
“Alhamdullillah DS Ismail Sabri has been appointed as the ninth prime minister. Therefore, the PN brand as the federal government ends today. Before this, BN was not even a PN component party.
“The previous government was a coalition between BN, PN, Parti Bersatu Sabah and Gabungan Parti Sarawak, and not a PN government.
“I don’t know who the smarty pants was that called the previous government a PN government,” Rahman had said in a Facebook post.
After weeks of political turmoil, Ismail Sabri was sworn-in as prime minister yesterday by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Perikatan Nasional chief Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin resigned last Monday after his legitimacy was called into question on various occasions.
However, Ismail Sabri will still need to prove he commands majority support in the Dewan Rakyat when it convenes next month, as per the Agong’s decree. – The Vibes, August 22, 2021
