Senator Robert Lau
SIBU (Aug 21): Newly-minted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri will need to appoint capable ministers to assist him, especially in the areas of health and economy, opined Senator Robert Lau.
The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Bawang Assan branch chairman said that Malaysia’s ninth prime minister will be expected to keep most of the ministers from the PN government, or at the very least keep the portfolios for the same parties from the previous government.
Lau said that this would prevent infighting over positions in the cabinet among the different parties that supported him.
“It looks very much like a continuity of the previous PN government in terms of ministers and policies. The group of 11 UMNO lawmakers and the PH MPs failed to force a major change in terms of policies.
“The real pity out of this saga of toppling the PN government has been the missed golden opportunity to carry out major reforms that were offered by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin last Friday in order to get the support from the Opposition MPs,” he said.
He added that save for two DAP MPs who asked for this offer to be seriously considered, it had been quickly shot down by all opposition leaders.
“This is despite what was being offered being what they had been fighting for all along, or at least that’s what they said. It was a case of putting political interest above the peoples’ interest.
“One can call Muhyiddin a ‘desperate leader’ for making such an offer but it also took a brave person to do so. It was nonetheless an offer worthy of consideration – and a rare one. This was a black swan event and Malaysia could have been looking forward to a major reform next week had the opposition accepted the offer,” Lau opined.
He said that in addition, the appointment of Ismail Sabri as prime minister was a quick promotion as he had only recently been appointed by Muhyiddin as his deputy and that “he was in the right place at the right time”.
Yesterday, Ismail Sabri was appointed as Malaysia’s ninth prime minister and according to Istana Negara in a statement would be sworn in at 2.30pm today.
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.