The Malaysian Insight

PRIME Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today he has fulfilled all the demands made by the Umno Supreme Council in leading the government.

“I have done all that was requested of me by the party, as instructed on August 27, 2021,” said the Umno vice-president during his winding-up speech at the 2021 Umno General Assembly.

“My core is Umno and I will not change. And I will lead the cabinet by ensuring that Umno’s views are given priority. 

“I’m a party man,” declared Ismail.

This is the first time Ismail was speaking at the Umno General Assembly since his appointment as prime minister last year.

Since then, the Bera MP has come under pressure from the party to dissolve Parliament to hold a general election following the Barisan Nasional’s thumping wins at the Malacca and Johor state elections.

The coalition retained those states with supermajorities.

Ismail said the Umno Supreme Council had outlined six items for him to do after he was appointed prime minister last August.

“The first was cross-party cooperation. And I have done that by signing a memorandum of understanding with Pakatan Harapan and this has lowered the political temperature,” he said.

On Covid-19 management and vaccination, he said Malaysia has now achieved herd immunity with 98.5% of the population vaccinated and is currently carrying out the booster programme. 

Ismail said he has also achieved the third and fourth requests by the party, which is to give more aid to small entrepreneurs who have been affected by the epidemic, as well as to rebrand the government as Keluarga Malaysia.

He said his administration has also strengthened Parliament by ensuring there is adequate checks and balances in the select committees. 

He said the government has started a royal commission of inquiry into Tabung Haji and special investigations on former attorney-general Tommy Thomas and the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim.

An ex-gratia payment of RM1.5 million was also made to Adib’s family on November 29 last year, Ismail said of the hot-button issue that saw many Muslim-Malay groups call for justice over Adib’s death following injuries sustained while responding to an emergency call at a Hindu temple in Subang Jaya, Selangor in 2018. – March 19, 2022.