GEORGE TOWN – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has not ruled out the general election taking place this year despite rough weather being forecast till year-end.
He said that he will first hold discussions on the proposed polling date with Umno’s top five leaders namely the president, deputy president and three vice-presidents. Ismail himself is one of the vice-presidents.
“Yes, but it all depends on the top five,” he said after attending the annual World Congress on Innovation and Technology (WCIT) at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre here.
The event, which drew some 5,000 international participants and government officials, was launched by Penang Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak here.
Ismail also declined to comment when asked if he would be tabling the federal budget despite not being the finance minister, telling reporters to “wait and see."
Earlier, DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng had declared that he would oppose it in Parliament if Ismail tables the budget as this task has always been done by the finance minister.
On another matter, Ismail also said that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is incarcerated over graft charges, will receive the best care from the health ministry over his recent complaints.
Najib reportedly suffered from serious tummy ulcers and unstable blood pressure.
Najib has been admitted to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for treatment and this has caused him to miss his court appearance over another slew of corruption charges.
Earlier, when addressing an international audience at WCIT, Ismail said that Malaysia is in the best position to achieve its RM70 billion digital investment target by 2025.
This is because the country has played a leading role among Southeast Asian countries in embracing technology.
"With its world-class infrastructure, holistic and comprehensive digital ecosystem and highly skilled digital talents, Malaysia today has the makings of being a prime digital investment destination in Asean," he said.
Since the introduction of the Multimedia Super Corridor initiative in 1996, the government has attracted digital investment worth RM384 billion.
It led to the creation of 180,000 skilled jobs, generating incomes worth RM588 billion, he said.
Ismail said that the new wave of investments in information and communications technology is for new growth sectors such as data centres, services providers, creative content and global business shared services.
He stressed that in a bid to spark new innovations, the government has designed a digital ecosystem through the MyDigital initiative that encompasses a digital economy blueprint under the national fourth industrial revolution policy – The Vibes, September 13, 2022
