Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing
KUCHING (Aug 20): Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing has called MPs of all political divide to rally behind the new prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who has been appointed the ninth prime minister of Malaysia today.
The Deputy Chief Minister said all MPs need to set aside their differences even if Ismail Sabri was not their choice of candidate to be the next prime minister, so that the Covid-19 pandemic situation in Malaysia can be dealt with effectively.
“He (Ismail Sabri) may not be your choice to be your prime minister, but you do not have much of a choice. Ismail Sabri is legitimately elected by 114 MPs out of the 220 MPs,” he said in a WhatsApp message to The Borneo Post today.
While extending his heartiest congratulations to Ismail Sabri, Masing said the new premier has a very heavy task ahead of him particularly in the fight against Covid-19.
“He needs to bring back the divided House into one solid force to battle Covid-19, the deadly virus which has killed hundreds and caused untold miseries to Malaysians,” said the Minister of Infrastructure and Ports Development.
Masing appealed to all to give Ismail Sabri a chance to lead the country in the next 20 months.
“Let’s give him a chance to be our ‘commander-in-chief’ and fight this dreaded Covid-19. Once Covid-19 is contained, we can return to normalcy.
“Then, if we wish, we can elect a peace time prime minister using the normal democratic process,” he said.
Masing added: “But now, we must battle this coronavirus together.”
According to him, Ismail Sabri is untested as a prime minister.
Stressing that Ismail Sabri was legally elected by the MPs, he said people ought to give the new prime minister a chance.
“His past records showed him to be a dedicated minister – hard working, friendly and an honest person. And above all else, he is very loyal to the party which nominated him to stand during the last general elections.
“In an era where betraying of voters’ trust is not of prime importance by our elected representatives, Ismail Sabri stands tall,” said Masing.
He added that all must give “this honest and loyal party man a chance to lead us”.
Earlier today, Bera MP Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed as Malaysia’s ninth prime minister.
Istana Negara said in a statement that the new prime minister will be sworn in at 2.30pm tomorrow.
The statement said the appointment was made with the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
Ismail Sabri, 61, who is former deputy prime minister and Umno vice-president, was appointed following the resignation of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister on Aug 16 after he failed to command the majority support of in the Dewan Rakyat.