New PM must have no long-term political ambitions, says Johari

 

Former second finance minister Johari Ghani has called on all political parties to bring the political temperature down and focus on critical issues presently facing the nation.

PETALING JAYA: In the wake of prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation yesterday, Umno’s Johari Ghani has called on all political parties to bring the political temperature down and focus on critical issues presently facing the nation.

“At present, every economic indicator in the country shows a negative outlook,” he said.

Johari pointed specifically to the latest Fitch report released yesterday, which forecast that Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) will be stagnant this year.

“It will be extremely difficult for the country going forward if nothing is done now to contain the damage,” Johari warned. “Unemployment is rising again, salary and household incomes are plunging, and consumption and investments are slowing down.”

We need to overcome this quickly,” he said, adding that political uncertainty over the coming year will only exacerbate matters.

To address the issue, the first order of business must be for all elected representatives to reach consensus on the appointment of an interim prime minister, he said.

“The interim prime minister must be someone who harbours no political ambitions beyond the current parliamentary term,” Johari suggested.

“An overly ambitious leader will always be looking to extend his tenure beyond the next general elections, which in turn will maintain or even increase the present heightened political temperature,” he warned.

He called on all political leaders and elected representatives to put the nation first and set aside party ideology and personal ambition in order to achieve consensus in the quickest possible time.

“The reality is that no political party has a majority,” the former second finance minister said. “Neither is there any coalition capable of harnessing support from enough MPs to form a government.”

Over the last few days intense negotiations have been taking place among prominent political personalities behind the scenes in the hope of securing the magical 111 seats presently required to take over the lower house.

“No coalition has a clear path to securing a convincing majority to enable it to govern properly,” Johari told FMT. “Even if they do succeed, it will in all likelihood be by the slimmest majority.”

“Such a majority would be too fragile for any aspiring leader to take on the reins of government,” he warned.

“In addition, the prospective leader will have to contend with the political and personal agendas of each and every political party and leader making up the ruling coalition,” Johari said.

“This will put an unnecessary additional burden on the next prime minister, as was the case in the last administration,” he warned.

Johari reiterated that the new administration needed to direct its efforts in four areas – the Covid-19 pandemic, the health and welfare of the rakyat, the management of government coffers and reviving the economy.

The immediate priority must be to intensify efforts in the on-going vaccination process to achieve herd immunity.

“Our country needs a break from its current political narrative,” he said. - FMT