Could Ismail Sabri be M’sia’s shortest-serving prime minister?

KUALA LUMPUR – Could Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob be Malaysia’s shortest-serving prime minister if a general election is called within the year?

These are some of the murmurs resonating among Umno’s top echelon, who are concerned that the party and the coalition it leads, Barisan Nasional (BN), are rushing to their doom by calling for early polls. 

According to a senior Umno leader, many of his fellow party leaders feel that Ismail Sabri, who is also the Bera MP, is stuck between a rock and a hard place as he is hard-pressed by a few personalities within the party to call for the 15th general election (GE15) immediately.

The leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the prime minister is dealing with said pressure in addition to a weakening national economy, inflation, the rising cost of living, the depreciating ringgit and a slew of other socio-economic woes that were made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic.

All signs show that calling for an election now would surely doom any party overextending its reach, including Umno.

“Why are we rushing into an election when we have not solved our own internal problems, much less problems faced by the people?

“Do you think that the people would not punish Umno and BN instead if we are the ones who push for an election now?” the Umno man questioned in response to queries by The Vibes.

The senior party leader said those who are pressuring Ismail Sabri are only thinking of themselves and have nothing to do with the people or the party. 

“If Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri relents to pressure and calls for an election, there is a good possibility that the results end up with his administration being the shortest in Malaysian history and he will have to live with that fact.

“Mind you, the people that are pressuring him (Ismail Sabri) have been in the government, so they also know that all indicators on the economy shows that it needs time and space to stabilise.

“So don’t tell the people that the stakes for GE15 are high, and yet you are asking for the coalition to commit to a potential blunder,” he added.

The revelation made by the senior Umno leader comes after the BN convention held on Wednesday, celebrating the coalition’s 48th anniversary.

During the convention, BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, along with his predecessor Datuk Seri Najib Razak, pushed for an early election to the delight of a roaring crowd.

Both Zahid and Najib were riding high on the jubilant mood stemming from the coalition’s landslide wins in the recent Melaka and Johor state elections. 

However, both men also cautioned members not to be complacent and for members to work hard, as national polls could be called at any time.

Despite BN winning 43% and 38% of the popular vote respectively in the Johor and Melaka state elections, these numbers are not reflective of actual support for the coalition, said the senior Umno leader.

Is 43% of the popular vote really enough? Is it really safe? Can this actually translate to votes in GE15? Nobody knows, so I asked again, why are we so gung ho about heading into GE15?” the senior leader asked. 

When pressed on whether there are other senior Umno leaders who share the same sentiments, the senior leader simply stated that it is their prerogative.

“I’m not a gunslinger like (Datuk Seri Mohamed) Nazri (Abdul) Aziz. He prefers to shoot from the hip. That’s him, not me,” said the source in jest.

When contacted, Umno’s Padang Rengas MP Nazri lashed out at senior party leaders. 

“Calling for an election in the midst of rising inflation, rising cost of goods...and it is only common sense. The people are in trouble; that is suicidal.

“Because when you are in the government now, the rakyat expect you to come up with solutions and ease their problems.

“Yet because of political reasons, you claim you have the support of the rakyat because of the Johor and Melaka state elections and various other by-elections, and because of that, you want to call for a general election. 

“I think that is ridiculous,” he said.

Nazri also stated that there is no pressure coming from the opposition bloc calling for the prime minister to step down.

They (opposition bloc) are not calling for him to step down, and the ones that are calling for him to step down are in his own party and leaders. That is ridiculous,” he said. 

When asked why more Umno and BN leaders are not speaking up against an early election, Nazri stated that many of them have vested interests, without elaborating further.

For context, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had served 17 months as prime minister under the Perikatan Nasional administration.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had served 22 months under the Pakatan Harapan government during his second tenure as prime minister. 

He had previously led the country for 22 years under BN.

The Vibes had also previously reported that Tun Abdul Razak Hussein had served for four months as the prime minister in 1959 when his predecessor Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj had resigned, before the latter assumed the post again. Razak later led the country from 1970 until his death in 1976. – The Vibes, June 3, 2022